Villarreal v. Texas · ¶23

This Court agreed. The trial judge's order, we explained, was a species of the traditional practice of witness sequestration. “Applied to nonparty witnesses,” the practice is unobjectionable and “within sound judicial discretion.” Id., at 88. But Geders “was not simply a witness; he was also the defendant.” Ibid. And whereas “[a] nonparty witness ordinarily has little, other than his own testimony, to discuss with trial counsel” during an overnight recess, the same is not true of a defendant: “It is common practice during such recesses for an accused and counsel to discuss the events of the day's trial.” Ibid. Indeed, we explained,

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