I agree with your description that the Judge should be more hands on to make a trial more fair, Marlene. This is what makes trials such a mind game in such that the lawyers have to be on their game, at all times throughout the trial.
I one sat on a civil trial once...it was one learning experience. Later on when I told my husband that I sat on that jury, he said he should have known it was me that sat on that jury....lol....that the whole town's legal circle had talked about our decision for MONTHS. They had asked for like 500,000 and we gave the injured party 10,000 simply because she had previous injuries and there was no proof that the current injuries caused that much more damage than the previous injuries. My husband, when I asked WHY everyone was talking about it, said it was an insurance case and usually those are wins for the injured party in the entire amount sued for. I explained why we decided the way we did and he then said he figured I was the one in charge of the jury room....lol. My reply was that we didn't know it was an insurance case to begin with and also that even if I did know that that it would be tough to pull a fast one on me because to do so is exactly what raises our insurance costs every year....which is true. Even that was a total mind game....in voire dire they did ask us if we ever worked for or heard of this insurance company....surely it was put in there to let us know this was an insurance case...but to me, that really didn't matter. The proof of damage is what the law is. Even on that jury, there were scared members that wouldn't participate because they were scared of the injured party coming after them. It was crazy. My husband reminded me that they had to use the jaws of life to remove the injured woman from the car....and they did....but that does not always mean that her injuries required that sum. That conversation, in the beginning of our relationship, set the tone for years and years of healthy debate over legal matters....lol. I have to say though, in all the years of his law practice, he never lost a case....either civil or criminal. He was good and he knew the law in and out and I also believe his calm and friendly demeanor and his no game playing attitude is what helped him win. Of course, I think he is handsome....and that probably helped too. LOL. Even on that civil trial there were mind games being played between the injured parties lawyer and the jury. It was insane.