Montalto v. State

OPINION

By WASHBURN, PJ.

Two principal claims are made: one that the trial judge was disqualified toi hear the case because he had prejudged the case, and the other that the sentence pronounced by the court was excessive.

As to the first claim, the record discloses that, after the defendant had plead not guilty and had waived a jury trial, the cause, being regularly assigned, came on for trial, and that after the trial had begun but before any testimony had been offered, the trial judge, in open court and in the presence of the defendant and his counsel and opposing counsel, said: “I want…