State v. Hardin

MORRIS, Judge.

Defendants assign as prejudicial error the trial court’s finding, in the presence of the jury, that a confession was made “freely and voluntarily”. They assert that such a finding in the jury’s presence amounted to an expression of opinion on the evidence in violation of G.S. 1-180. The State concedes there was a technical violation of the statute, but argues that, considering the entire record, the error was not prejudicial. The State correctly points *560out that all expressions of opinion do not warrant a new trial. See State v. Teasley, 31 N.C. App. 729, 230 S.E. 2d 692 (1976).…