In a strongly worded 21-page decision, an Appellate Division, 1st Department, panel rebuked a Manhattan judge Thursday for establishing a pattern over the last few years of consistently and improperly intervening in the questioning of witnesses.
In its unsigned opinion People v. Melendez, 8200, the panel upheld a jury’s conviction of a Manhattan man on felony drug charges, but criticized acting Supreme Court Justice Arlene R. Silverman’s interference during the prosecution’s direct examination of witnesses.
