Ex Parte DeLeon

Relator in this original habeas corpus proceeding contends that she was improperly sanctioned for contempt for refusing to answer questions on the ground of her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. We agree.

The five county courts at law in Dallas County jointly appointed a master in chancery under Rule 171 of the Rules of Civil Procedure to preside over discovery in sixteen cases in which defendants alleged that the plaintiffs’ attorney had staged automobile accidents in order to make fraudulent claims. The courts also adopted a procedure for witnesses to assert privileges…