State v. Steele

MORRIS, Judge.

In his first assignment of error the defendant contends that the trial court committed error by repeatedly intervening with comments and questions with such regularity and in such a manner as to amount to an expression of opinion by the court and by assuming the role of prosecutor in sustaining his own objections, all in violation of G.S. 1-180. Altogether the trial judge intervened with questions or comments well over 100 times. After examining the record closely, we feel compelled to sustain this assignment of error.

“G.S. 1-180 imposes on the trial judge the duty of absolute…