Opinion ID: 628059
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: witnesses in prison clothes

Text: 83 Defendants Jones and Davis claim that they suffered reversible prejudice because some of their co-conspirators appearing in court as witnesses against them wore prison uniforms and the Government prosecutors commented on that attire. The Government called five co-conspirators as witnesses and noted to each one that he wore prison clothing and then asked if he was incarcerated. That was all the prosecutors said about the clothing of the witnesses. Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126 (1976), forbids a defendant from being forced, over his objection, to wear prison garb at his trial, but these defendants were not. This Court's predecessor, considering a habeas petition, held that no prejudice flowed from an accused's co-defendant being brought into the courtroom for identification wearing a prison uniform. Cook v. Beto, 425 F.2d 1066, 1067 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 944, 91 S.Ct. 248, 27 L.Ed.2d 249 (1970); see also Johnson v. Spalding, 510 F.Supp. 164 (E.D.Wash.1981) (in habeas petition, no prejudice flowed from witnesses testifying in prison clothing), aff'd, 669 F.2d 589 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 942, 103 S.Ct. 254, 74 L.Ed.2d 198 (1982). The inference to be drawn from prison clothing is that the witnesses were in prison, a fact that is not inadmissible. No error was committed.