State v. Taffaro

This case tests the limits of a judge’s authority to question witnesses at trial. Trial courts have an obligation to insure that trials proceed fairly, and judges may question witnesses to clarify testimony, expedite a case, and otherwise protect the proceedings. But in exercising their discretionary power, judges must take care not to influence the jury by signaling doubt about a witness’s credibility. To do otherwise might place the court’s impartiality in question and affect the trial’s outcome.

In this case, the trial judge’s questioning of a criminal defendant ran counter to the above…