Opinion ID: 658545
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Challenge to the Trial Court's Conduct

Text: 167 Lopez contends that the district court made a number of one-sided improper rulings and denigrat[ed] his counsel at trial, and thereby sent a clear improper message to the jury that Lopez's counsel was unworthy of belief and unethical and gave the impression that the court favored the government. (Lopez brief on appeal at 66-67.) We find no basis for reversal. 168 In reviewing a challenge to a trial judge's conduct, this Court's role is not to determine whether the trial judge's conduct left something to be desired, or even whether some comments would have been better left unsaid. Rather, we must determine whether the judge's behavior was so prejudicial that it denied [the defendant] a fair, as opposed to a perfect, trial. United States v. Pisani, 773 F.2d 397, 402 (2d Cir.1985). The court's comments and rulings may not be viewed in isolation but must be evaluated in light of the record as a whole. See, e.g., United States v. Manko, 979 F.2d 900, 905-07 (2d Cir.1992) (affirming judgment despite a few instances in which court's conduct crossed the line in questioning witnesses), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2993, 125 L.Ed.2d 687 (1993); United States v. Mazzilli, 848 F.2d 384, 388-89 (2d Cir.1988) (new trial ordered where court, by the manner of its intensive questioning of defendant, communicated to the jury its impression that his testimony was unworthy of belief). 169 In the present case, although a few of the trial court's evidentiary rulings were erroneous, see Point II.C.2. above, and some of its admonitions to trial counsel were curt and critical, at least some of the criticisms were warranted, and none of the comments suggested endorsement of any witness's testimony or revealed any bias against any defendant. We have examined the record, and we are satisfied that neither the few evidentiary errors nor the dozen-or-so cited criticisms, during the course of this two-month trial, deprived defendants of a fair trial.