Surprisingly, (ok, not surprisingly), an appellate court concluded that the following was not acceptable:
(Whereupon, the following proceedings were held outside the presence and hearing of the jury.)
COURT: All right. Mr. Shaw, let’s have an understanding here. Listen to me.
DEFENDANT: I brought –-
COURT: I’m asking you to listen to me, and I’m telling you what is going to happen.
DEFENDANT: You’ve already denied me due process of law, sir.
COURT: Get the duct tape out.
(Whereupon, court remained in adjournment. At which time the Defendant was bound and gagged.)
Shaw v. State, 846 S.W.2d 482 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1993).
The appellate court held that defendant had been unfairly prejudiced as a result of sitting in front of the jury for the duration of the trial while bound and gagged with duct tape: "Even after considering the appellant's prior criminal record we find this sentence (99 years in prison) somewhat on the severe end of the spectrum for stealing cartons of cigarettes from a grocery store."
Hat tip: Lowering the Bar.
Reminds me, once again, of one of my favorite Monty Python scenes:
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