Opinion ID: 399922
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Court's Comments on Evidence.

Text: 18 White and Kuykendall also contend that the court unfairly prejudiced their effort to defend the charges against them by indicating that it did not consider the cases relied on by defendants applicable to their case. Appellants maintain that the court's comments denied them a fair trial by portraying them as presenting an inaccurate statement of the law. We also reject this contention. 19 The trial court has broad discretion in commenting on evidence. United States v. Eagan, 516 F.2d 1392 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 856, 96 S.Ct. 106, 46 L.Ed.2d 81 (1975). Here, the court did not err by commenting on the relevance of cases relied on by defendants. The court has responsibility for directing the jury in matters of law, and may comment on the evidence to give appropriate assistance to the jury, Quercia v. United States, 289 U.S. 466, 469-70, 53 S.Ct. 698, 699, 77 L.Ed. 1321 (1933), so long as it does so fairly and impartially. Gant v. United States, 506 F.2d 518, 520 (8th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 1005, 95 S.Ct. 1449 (1975). In this case the court did not express an opinion on the defendants' guilt or innocence, nor did the court, by its comment, act as an advocate for the prosecution. United States v. Williams, 505 F.2d 947, 948 (8th Cir. 1974). We, therefore, conclude that the court's comments would not preclude a fair evaluation of the evidence by the jury. 20