John L. Abron, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed John L. Abron's conviction, holding that the trial court's refusal to allow specific questions about racial prejudice during voir dire violated his due process rights and the Texas constitutional right to counsel, thereby depriving him of an intelligent basis for peremptory challenges. The court emphasized that Texas procedural rules require allowing such inquiries when they are essential to exercising peremptory challenges. Justice Morrison, in a concurring opinion, agreed the conviction must be reversed but defended the trial judge, attributing the error to a communication failure. The case was remanded for further proceedings.