Manafort Aide Attacked as Liar

As a retired judge who handled many criminal court trials, I am deeply disturbed by the behavior of federal judge T.S. Ellis III as he presides at the trial of Paul Manafort. His constant berating of the prosecutors might be excused as a function of an irascible personality, not a prized quality in a jurist, or as a by- product of his pursuit of a speedy trial.

However, Judge Ellis' interruptions of examination of witnesses and his own frequent questioning of witnesses, sometimes accompanied by remarks that suggest the judge's disbelief of the witness' credibility or his disapproval of the witness' behavior, constitute unacceptable and improper judicial demeanor. A trial judge must be sensitive to the influence his perceived views and behavior carry with jurors who often take the judge's apparent perspective as a guidepost for their own deliberations. A judge must not convey his private assessment of a case or a witness to the jurors who are the ultimate deciders of the facts.

I believe the prosecutors should request that Judge Ellis give a curative instruction to the jury advising that they must not draw any inferences or conclusions from the court's interpositions and assure the jurors that he does not have an opinion of the credibility of any witness nor of the guilt or innocence of the defendant.