Webb v. Texas

409 U.S. 95 (1972)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Webb (D) was on trial for burglary, and during a jury recess a witness he was calling to the stand was severely admonished by the judge to tell the truth or suffer severe consequences. The witness had a prior criminal record and was serving a sentence. D's counsel objected to the lecture given by the judge in that he was putting the witness under duress and coercion and was depriving D of the only witness to testify for him. The witness refused to testify, and a subsequent motion for mistrial was overruled. D appealed; the judge's conduct deprived him of a due process. The court of criminal appeals rejected D's appeal because counsel for D did not object to what the judge was doing until he was finished.