A jury trial of huge political consequences is much more likely...

A jury trial of huge political consequences is much more likely to be affected by bias in the jury than say a fraud or armed robbery case. A jury of 12 selected at random is likely to have a 5/5/2 split. The 2 being leaning to smaller parties or independents. It would be hard to weed out political bias unless the juror was a well known party member. Just one of those five on either side if they had strong bias is enough to abort a trial. Aborting a trial is the second best option for someone facing gaol.

Bruce was not forced to have a judge only trial and he must have chosen a jury. Like herding cats. I reckon judges get the best result.

However, I am sure some drug cartels or bikie gangs would have looked at this and have a jury plan in place.