State v. Caron
| Decision Date | 10 March 1978 |
| Parties | STATE of Maine v. Raymond J. CARON. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
Thomas E. Delahanty, II, Dist. Atty., R. Barrie Michelsen, Asst. Dist. Atty. (orally), Auburn, for plaintiff.
Gaston M. Dumais (orally), Lewiston, for defendant.
Before McKUSICK, C. J., and POMEROY, WERNICK, ARCHIBALD, GODFREY and NICHOLS, JJ.
Appellant Raymond J. Caron was charged with a violation of 29 M.R.S.A. § 893 which makes it a crime to leave the scene of an accident involving personal injury without stopping and making oneself known in the manner prescribed by 29 M.R.S.A. § 896. A jury trial was held and a guilty verdict was returned.
Included in the trial court's charge to the jury was the following statement:
Appellant objected to this portion of the charge. The court's statement contains an opinion on an issue of fact in the case and tends to disparage appellant's theory of the case. The statement was inappropriate. Appellant is entitled to a new trial.
The entry is:
Appeal sustained.
Judgment vacated and case remanded for a new trial.
DELAHANTY, J., did not sit.
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