. Is it proper for the judge to conduct his own inquiry?
No! It would not be proper. But here’s the deal.
Since it is a decision out of small claims court the issue is made moot when the aggrieved party files a timely appeal and has the case heard fresh by a higher court. Called a trial de novo. In that instance the second court pays not attention to the evidence presented before the small claims judge and could care less how he came up with his finding as to the vehicle’s value.
On the other hand, if such a decision were handed down by a judge in a higher court (higher than small claims) then on an appeal it wouldn’t be so much a question of where the judge or jury came up with the value of the vehicle. It would be a question of whether or not there is any competent evidence in the trial record to support the finding.
In other words, an appeal from a court above small claims does not involve retrying the same case before a higher court. The appellate court or court of review looks at the trial record in the lower court.
And in this example, if the reviewing court found that there was no competent evidence submitted in the lower court to justify the finding of value, it could reverse the lower court's decision.
Clear as mud, right?