Opinion ID: 2161601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 37

Heading: Comments of Trial Judge in Jury's Presence

Text: Grandison's next complaint involves the allegation that he was denied a fair trial because on three occasions the trial judge made comments in the jury's presence that implied that sufficient proof existed to find Grandison guilty. The first instance occurred when the court was asked if it had ruled on an objection made by Grandison to hearsay statements of the co-conspirators. The basis of the objection was that there had been no conspiracy yet shown and because of all this hearsay evidence.... The court responded, Yes, there has been. Grandison's standby counsel responded, Note the objection, please. It is clear what the objection went to  the hearsay statements, not the court's comments. No further relief was sought by Grandison. While we do not approve of the court commenting in front of the jury as it did, we believe Grandison could have sought some corrective action by the trial judge, keeping in mind he had already advised the jury that his legal rulings should not be taken to indicate how he felt about the case. The second incident occurred as the court was temporarily excusing the alternate jurors when the panel was given the case to decide guilt or innocence. The judge stated: However, there is a possibility, depending on what the sentence may be, that a juror may have to be called back  the jury may have to be called back later for a second hearing, as I told you once before. It is obvious to us, as it must have been to anyone who heard this remark, that the court committed a slip of the tongue and nothing more. Taken in the context that the word sentence was used, the only logical understanding of what the court meant was to say depending on what the verdict may be. Furthermore, we do not glean any intent on the court's part to express any opinion as to what that verdict should be. The third instance cited by Grandison came about while closing argument was being made by his standby counsel. After stating, I know that somebody in Baltimore County decided that three other people who were really involved in this thing  you all know that, because you voted that way  three other people are not going to get the death sentence . an objection was made by the State's Attorney, followed by this colloquy: MR. CRAWFORD [Standby Counsel]: I am surprised you didn't object before, Mr. Levitz. THE COURT: I am too. A lot of this hasn't been in the evidence anywhere. MR. CRAWFORD: I believe that every case that I have ever read with this type of thing said there is extreme latitude in a death case, and I would be permitted to go far beyond the evidence. THE COURT: Extreme latitude. There is an end to all latitudes, Mr. Crawford. MR. CRAWFORD: Is the Court ruling me out of order on this particular point? THE COURT: No, sir, I am just saying, your obligation to your profession, try to hold it within the limits. That is all. MR. CRAWFORD: I realize my obligation to my profession, Your Honor. THE COURT: I say, keeping that in mind, hold this down within those limits. MR. CRAWFORD: I am not quite certain I know the nature of Mr. Levitz's objection. MR. LEVITZ: I would be glad to state the nature of my objection. The statement was not true. THE COURT: Gentlemen, I don't think you are doing anybody any good by going into this. I think we all understand what the problem is. MR. CRAWFORD: I am not certain I do, but I will drop that particular subject for the moment. Grandison argues that the comments by the trial judge, in view of the unique status that he has, carry the potential for influencing the jurors. He further argues that the court's comments related to the weight of the evidence and materially affected his rights. We agree with the State's argument that there was no error in the court's comment. Indeed there was a lack of evidence to support standby counsel's argument which intended to convey the impression that there was no uniformity throughout the State in the seeking of the death penalty in eligible cases. We find no error here.