United States v. Filani
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
74 F.3d 378 (2d Cir. 1996)
Joseph Filani (defendant) was arrested at customs and charged with possessing and intending to distribute heroin. Filani testified in his own defense that the briefcase agents caught him with was not his. Throughout his testimony, the trial judge repeatedly interrupted the questioning attorney to ask his own questions directly of Filani, frequently in a skeptical and at times argumentative tone that suggested disbelief of Filani's account, and the judge similarly intervened during other witnesses' testimony, always in ways that undercut Filani's defense. The jury convicted Filani, and he appealed.
Whether a trial judge may actively participate in a trial by giving his own impressions of the evidence and questioning witnesses.