Bush v. Texas

This case raises questions of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment growing out of the conviction of petitioner, an indigent, for the crime of felony theft. Upon proof of two prior theft convictions, petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment as an habitual offender. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. 172 Tex. Cr. R. 54, 353 S. W. 2d 855 (1962). We granted certio-rari. 371 U. S. 859.

Petitioner, who in 1924 had been adjudged insane, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. His claims of a denial of due process are based on (1) the trial court’s refusal prior to…