A judge cannot be effective if he is kicked off the court.
Judge Schroeder followed the judicial procedures to the letter.
A judge is not allowed to be the finder of fact.
You are asking Judge Schroeder to be a dictator instead of a judge.
Where did Judge Schroeder say a lie was the truth?
Judge Schroeder is not the judge who allowed the charge to be entered in the first place.
The charge was entered early in the procedings. It was challenged at that time. The judge who allowed it probably was in error, but he likely took the DA at their word in the initial process.
The error was compounded by the standard jury instructions for the crime, which do not even mention the exceptions.
Only when facts are in dispute. Judges can and always take judicial notice, and sometimes assert their own fact findings.
One objective of the system is to distill the case to the relevant disputed facts. Otherwise there could be arguments about whatever either side figures would use the most time. How dark? Lets get natural and artifical light experts to explain the difference between night and day and how lighting affects perception ....