U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1974

Smith v. Estelle

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Decided August 2, 1974 · Ainsworth, Brown, Thornberry

498 F.2d 631 (Federal Reporter, Second Series)

Counsel

Donald L. Kraemer, Staff Counsel, Huntsville, Tex.’, for petitioner-appellant., John L. Hill, Atty. Gen., Sarah Shirley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Austin, Tex., for respondent-appellee.

Cases that cite this one

4 later published cases cite this decision. The 3 that cite it most often are listed here.

Harry Lee Williams v. W. J. Estelle, Director, Texas Department of Corrections, and C. v. Kern, Sheriff (5th Cir. 1974)
Williams v. Estelle (5th Cir. 1974)
Hollins v. Estelle (5th Cir. 1974)

This list shows which later cases cite this one. It does not say how they treated it, and no review of that has been done. Not a substitute for Shepard’s or KeyCite — verify before relying.

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM:

Appellant was tried and convicted in Texas state court for assault with intent to murder. He seeks federal habeas corpus relief on the grounds he was tried in prison garb, rather than in civilian clothing, which we have granted on a number of occasions. Hernandez v. Beto, 5 Cir., 1971, 443 F.2d 634, Brooks v. State of Texas, 5 Cir., 1967, 381 F.2d 619, accord, Gaito v. Brierley, 3 Cir., 1973, 485 F.2d 86.

However, an examination of the evidentiary record in this case reflects beyond a reasonable doubt appellant’s guilt. We therefore hold the infraction to be harmless error. Thomas v. Beto, 5 Cir., 1973, 474 F.2d 981.

Affirmed.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.