State v. Mebane

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant’s convictions for murder and two weapons offenses. It held that the trial judge’s questioning of witnesses did not rise to a due process violation, that the evidence supported an inference of intent to kill, and that the defendant waived his unpreserved instructional claims by affirmatively accepting the instructions. The court also concluded that the instructions did not constitute plain error. Justice D’Auria, dissenting in part, would have ordered a new trial because the judge’s questioning of the defense experts could have appeared to endorse the state’s theory and discredit the defense.