Legal Ethics
Judge’s ‘Co-Prosecutor’ Role Requires New Trial, Md. Court of Appeals Says
Posted Jun 15, 2009, 11:14 am CST
By Martha Neil
Two men convicted on drug charges in Baltimore City Circuit Court must get new trials because the judge overseeing their cases did not behave impartially, the top court in Maryland has determined.
The "egregious" conduct by Judge Charles Bernstein, the Maryland Court of Appeals found, included effectively acting as a "co-prosecutor" in one case and casting doubt on the defendant's testimony in another, reports the Baltimore Sun.
"Whatever I did is a matter of record," Bernstein tells the newspaper, explaining that he cannot comment specifically. "If I was in error, then the Court of Appeals is doing its job and correcting that error."