Do You Have to Wear Jail Clothes In Court In Texas

The Court of Criminal Appeals recognized in Randle v. State, 826 S.W.2d 943, 944-46 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992), that the appearance of a defendant before the jury in prison clothes and handcuffs might adversely affect the presumption of innocence, and concluded that it could not decide beyond a reasonable doubt that the failure of the court and its officers to preserve the presumption of innocence was harmless. Id. (citing TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 2.03(b) (Vernon 1977)). In Ex parte Slaton, 484 S.W.2d 102 (Tex. Crim. App. 1972), the court of criminal appeals held the defendant was deprived of due process because he was tried in jail clothes. See id. at 105. In Penn v. State, 628 S.W.2d 179 (Tex. App.-Corpus Christi 1982, pet. ref'd), the court of appeals held the restraints used on the defendant deprived him of due process because they were visible to the jurors. See id. at 181.