Nobles v. State

1. Although the trial judge has the right to examine witnesses, the utmost caution should be used to avoid impressing the jury by the examination, and when in a criminal case it appears that there is a probability that the circumstances, or the form of the examination, conveyed to the jury an intimation of the court’s belief in the guilt of the accused, a new trial should be granted. When the questions as asked by the trial judge tend to discredit the witness or his testimony, or to suggest to the jury the inference that the court entertains an opinion unfavorable to the innocence of the…