State v. Nickerson

ELLINGTON, Presiding Judge.

A Muscogee County jury found Hendrick Nickerson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of voluntary manslaughter, OCGA § 16-5-2 (a); and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime against the person of another, OCGA § 16-11-106 (b) (1). The Superior Court of Muscogee County1 granted Nickerson’s motion for new trial based upon its finding that the judge who presided over the trial had impermissibly commented on the evidence, in violation of OCGA § 17-8-57, when he posed two questions to Nickerson during his testimony in the jury’s presence. The State…