Cook v. State

After a jury trial Ernest Allen Cook was convicted of murder, and the trial court sentenced him to fifty-five years imprisonment. In this direct appeal Cook raises five issues for our review which we rephrase as follows: (1) did the trial court abandon its role of impartiality and assume the role of a prosecutor by sua sponte interposing objections during Cook’s cross-examination of witnesses; (2) did the trial court err by refusing to allow evidence that the victim once acted as a confidential informant; (3) did the trial court improperly engage in ex parte communication with the jury; (4)…