§ 2.07 Key Points

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 2.07 Key Points

Court-called witnesses. Rule 614(a) recognizes the authority of the trial court to call witnesses on its own motion or at the behest of one of the parties. The exercise of this authority is rare, however. The authority to call witnesses includes the authority to appoint expert witnesses (Rule 706).

Court questioning of witnesses. Rule 614(b) recognizes the trial court's authority to question witnesses. It permits the judge to examine witnesses in order to develop facts germane to the issues and to clear up confusioni that may arise from the testimony. An impartiality requirement is implicit in the federal rule. The danger is that the jury might infer the judge's opinion of a witness through the persistence, tenor, range, or intensity of the judge's...