Judge Defends Himself In Baby Death Case, Says Overturning Murder Conviction Will Have 'Chilling Effect'
JACKSON (WWJ/AP) - A Jackson County judge says a decision by the Michigan Supreme Court to throw out a murder conviction will have a "chilling effect" on judges statewide.
The Supreme Court this week said Judge John McBain's aggressive questioning of witnesses was unfair to the defendant, Adam Stevens, and spoiled the 2012 trial.
Stevens' second-degree murder conviction in the 2010 death of his 3-month-old son Kian was thrown out, and he will get a new trial with a different judge. The Supreme Court unanimously said McBain "pierced the veil of judicial impartiality."
But McBain tells the Jackson Citizen Patriot that he asked "tough questions" that "weren't fully developed" by the prosecutor or defense.
"A couple of questions were damaging to the defense. I understand that," McBain told the paper. "That doesn't mean they were unlawful questions."
Stevens said he dropped the baby after tripping over a toy truck, Prosecutors told the court that Stevens, now 32, shook the boy or slammed him down, causing "abusive head trauma" that led to his death. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
But the Supreme Court the Supreme Court said Judge McBain appeared biased and likely influenced the jury, especially when he acted like a prosecutor while questioning a defense expert.
[Convicted Murderer To Get New Trial In Baby's Death; Judge Asked Too Many Questions]
"On numerous occasions, the trial judge intervened in a manner that exceeded the scope of permissive judicial questioning," the court wrote in its opinion.
McBain said the decision to overturn the conviction is going to cause judges to now be "far more reluctant" to ask questions.
"There is a whole new grade report and score sheet on how it needs to be done," he said. "A lot of judges aren't going to stand up there and do that."
A date for Stevens' new trial has not yet been set.
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