Yes. Judges have extreme latitude in what they consider and how they run a trial. Consider the recent case in Hawaii ruling on the travel ban. Quote: "The Court will not crawl into a corner, pull the shutters closed, and pretend it has not seen what it has."

(The reference is to the President's statements before and after the election)

Many seem to be surprised reading this transcript. Yet the tone this judge is using isn't anything special. You can see that he takes extreme care not to disadvantage one side, without pretending to be some sort of soulless automaton.