Villarreal v. Texas · ¶37

By contrast, Texas's reading—and now ours—gives content to Perry's framework: What shifts is the protection afforded to a certain subset of consultation. That subset, we hold, is discussion of testimony for its own sake—what Perry called “nothing but the testimony.” Id., at 284. A defense attorney may rehearse her client's testimony before her client takes the witness stand. See ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Formal Opinion 508: The Ethics of Witness Preparation 1–4 (Aug. 5, 2023) (Formal Opinion 508). And a defense attorney may debrief her client's testimony after her client leaves the witness stand for good. Such discussion of testimony qua testimony is entirely proper and the consultation that enables it is constitutionally protected before the defendant's testimony begins and after it concludes. But for the duration of the defendant's time on the…

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