CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago-based appellate court has criticized verbal jousting between a defense attorney and a lower court judge during a fraud trial.
The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin reports the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Avalon Betts-Gaston got a fair trial in 2015 despite friction between attorney Jennifer Bonjean and Judge Charles Norgle. It upheld the woman’s conviction.
Its Tuesday opinion cites Bonjean once suggesting in court that the judge was on the side of prosecutors, asking if he’d like to take off his robe and “come down…and do the government’s job.” And it cites the judge once making a disapproving facial expression as the defendant testified.
But the court concluded that nothing Norgle did would’ve led jurors to infer the judge believed the defendant was guilty.
___
Online:
www.chicagolawbulletin.com
___
Information from: Chicago Daily Law Bulletin , https://www.chicagolawbulletin.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.