Is a judge in a civil proceeding permitted to access a litigants
private banking information from the judge's computer at the bench?  I
was involved in a case in which the judge, without it even being
requested by the opposing party, used a social security number to
access a person's banking records and then began questioning the
witness about the information that showed up on the computer screen. 
The judge did not permit the witness to have access to the information
that the judge was looking at on the computer screen.

1) Is it legal for the judge to access this information, and
2) Is it legal for the judge to use this information against the party
without providing the party access to the same information the judge
is reviewing?