During the penalty phase of a 1992 triple-murder trial, Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald McCartin repeatedly disparaged the defense lawyer, berated two defense witnesses and even made objections on behalf of the prosecution.
He also led jurors to believe incorrectly that the defendant had been convicted of premeditated murder.
On Monday, the California Supreme Court rewarded McCartin's performance by reversing Gregory Sturm's death sentence. The judge, they held, had crossed the line to the point of committing misconduct and prejudicing the outcome of the trial.
"While some of the judge's remarks were innocuous and while we disagree with certain of defendant's challenges to evidentiary hearings, the trial judge made comments in front of the jury that constituted misconduct at several crucial instances," Justice Carlos Moreno wrote for a 5-2 court. "These errors were sufficiently severe and pervasive that it was reasonably probable that the errors affected the jury's deliberations to defendant's detriment."
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