Lawyer Censured After Making Faces, Arguing with Judge During Trial
A North Carolina lawyer was censured yesterday over conduct at a criminal trial in March that included making disapproving faces and implying to the jury that the judge’s past rulings prevented him from presenting certain evidence.
Raymond Marshall of Winston-Salem also walked around the courtroom while questioning witnesses even though Judge Catherine Eagles asked that he remain standing behind his table, and expressed personal opinions during his opening and closing arguments despite Eagles’ repeated warnings against doing so, according to the Journal Reporter. Eagles stopped Marshall from completing his closing arguments over this conduct, according to the censure order. Marshall was also late to court several times in spite of Eagles’ warnings to him to arrive on time.
Judge W. Erwin Spainhour, who issued the censure (PDF), acknowledged in the order that Marshall had back pain and was distracted by a family member’s medical condition. But he could have asked for a continuance or gotten another attorney involved in the case, Spainhour said.
Both Marshall and Eagles declined to comment to the Journal Reporter.
