State v. Kirby

Defendant assigns as error the court’s question to witness Woodrow Carr: “Speaking of the three wounds, how did they compare with each other?”

The presiding judge is entirely justified in propounding competent questions to a witness in order to clarify what a witness has said or to develop some relevant fact which has been overlooked. However, care must be exercised to avoid indirect expression of opinion on the facts, and it is improper for the trial judge to ask questions which are reasonably calculated to impeach or discredit the witness or his •testimony. State v. Kimrey, 236 N.C. 313, 72…