Court Opinion

ID: 9531497
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:12:16.916214+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:29.983585
License: Public Domain

WOOD (Parker), J.
I concur in the judgment. In my opinion the conduct of the trial judge in criticizing the plaintiff, while plaintiff was a witness, was improper. Some instances of such criticism are: (1) When an attorney for defendant asked the judge to instruct the witness to answer a question, the judge said, “It is useless.” The judge also said, “I doubt if you can ever remodel the witness’s method of answering questions.” (2) When the judge asked plaintiff how long he had been in the Navy, the plaintiff replied that he had drawn Navy pay four different times. Then the judge said: “Fine; a fine answer. That is a sample of the answer I told you that you have been indulging in and which fur*470nishes us with no information at all.” (3) On another occasion the judge said to plaintiff: “And don’t split hairs in your answers. Let’s talk plain turkey here.” (4) On another occasion, after the judge instructed the jury to disregard a comment of plaintiff (a comment to the effect that he would he glad to put his hand on the Bible), the judge said: “You are not doing yourself any good, young man.” (5) Thereupon, the plaintiff said he was sorry, and the judge said: “All you need to do is adhere to the truth and try to make a truthful answer. You are not making any effort at all to comply.” (6) Thereupon, the plaintiff said he was sorry, and the judge said: “Your deportment is entirely wrong as a witness, and you better cure it, if you can.” The attorneys for respondent assert in their brief that it is only fair to the trial judge that the full context of his comments be included in discussing appellant’s claim of hostility upon the part of the judge. Respondent attached to its brief a full context of those comments. In my opinion that context, or any context or circumstance, would not justify those comments by the trial judge in the presence of the jury. In my opinion, the comments cast insinuations, adverse to plaintiff, with reference to plaintiff’s understanding of and compliance with his oath as a witness. If plaintiff deserved a lecture with respect to nonresponsive answers it should have been given when the judge did not have the jury as a part of his audience. However, since the question as to the merits of the case was not a close question, I think that the conduct of the trial judge should not be regarded as a basis for a retrial.
Appellant’s petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied May 29, 1956. Carter, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.