Code of Civil Procedure Article 199

The presiding judge shall exercise care when directing the parties to present appropriate and complete arguments about the facts and the laws regarding the matters involved in the action.The presiding judge shall question the parties or direct them to make factual and legal representations, state evidence, or make other necessary statements and representations; where the presented statements or representations are ambiguous or incomplete, the presiding judge shall direct the presenting party to clarify or supplement.The associate judges may, after informing the presiding judge, question or direct the parties.