Contempt Charge Dropped Against Lawyer Who Refused to Testify Against Client

A Texas lawyer briefly jailed for contempt after he refused to testify against his client has been acquitted under an agreement approved by a judge on Tuesday.

Lubbock lawyer Ben Webb was jailed for about an hour in June after he refused to testify that his client had failed to appear for a 2008 trial, according to KCBD.com. At the time, Judge Jim Bob Darnell found Webb in contempt, saying the information fell outside the scope of attorney-client privilege, LubbockOnline reports. Later, Darnell signed an order saying he did not want the state to seek further punishment against Webb.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the charges, and a visiting judge signed an order finding Webb not guilty on Tuesday, according to the stories. "I feel two things today: pride and vindication," Webb said at a news conference on the courthouse lawn.

Several criminal defense lawyers appeared at the hearing to support Webb.