Turyan Maurice Milner, who proceeded pro se at trial, was convicted of felony theft by shoplifting. Based on his multiple prior theft convictions, the trial court sentenced him to ten years, including five to serve. In his sole enumeration of error on appeal, Milner argues that the trial judge improperly expressed her opinion of his guilt in violation of OCGA § 17-8-57 by cross-examining him at length. Although bordering on adversarial, we conclude that the court’s inquiry did not “seriously affect the fairness, integrity and public reputation of these judicial proceedings.”1 Therefore, we affirm. OCGA § 17-8-57 provides: It is error for any judge in any criminal case . . . to express or intimate his opinion as to what has or has not been proved or as to the guilt of the accused. Should any judge violate this Code section, the violation shall be held by the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals to be error and the decision in the case reversed, and a new trial granted in the court below. In Paul v. State ,2 the Supreme Court held that the “plain error” doctrine applies to allegations of improper judicial commentary.3 Therefore, where, as in the case at bar, the defendant fails to object or move for a mistrial after the trial judge’s remarks, we conduct a two-part inquiry. First, we determine whether the commentary was improper. Then, we review the commentary to determine whether it amounted to an obvious violation of OCGA § 17-8-57, meaning that it “seriously affected the fairness, integrity or public reputation of these judicial proceedings.”4
The remarks at issue are contained in the trial court’s lengthy examination of Milner following his testimony. However, to put the court’s remarks in context, we review the trial from the outset. In this regard, the record reveals that the trial court made a good-faith effort to assure that Milner, who adamantly refused to allow the court to appoint him counsel, received a fair trial. Milner had been indicted along with two accomplices, one male and one female, for shoplifting over $1,800 worth of merchandise from a K-Mart store in Rome, including fifty cans of baby formula, diapers, t-shirts, and assorted toiletries and health care items. Pat Davis, a loss prevention associate employed by K-Mart, testified that she saw a woman put numerous cans of baby formula into a shopping cart and exit through the front door. Davis followed her. After the woman pushed the cart onto the sidewalk, Milner drove up with his male accomplice in a burgundy van. The male accomplice motioned for the woman to proceed to the parking lot. The men drove to the lot, where the woman met them. Davis saw her throwing the cans of formula into the van. The entire incident was captured on two videotapes, which were played for the jury. After Davis testified on direct, Milner tried to cross-examine her, but Davis was unable to understand his questions. The trial judge, realizing the information that Milner was trying to elicit, questioned Davis for him.
