Johnson v. Metz

I concur in Judge Gurfein’s opinion for the Court, but deem it appropriate to comment briefly on the nature of the claim on the merits, which is now being returned for further consideration by the New York courts.

The petitioners’ claim on the merits is not limited to an assertion that the trial judge rendered their convictions constitutionally unfair by his excessive intervention. Were the claim so limited, it would indeed be a novel basis for alleging that a conviction has been obtained in violation of the Due Process Clause. Intervention per se would normally be a matter of concern to a…