East Texas judge accused of coercing plea with death threat

RAINS COUNTY – An East Texas judge is accused of threatening a defendant, according to a report from our news partner KETK.

A lawsuit filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Justice of the Peace Jenkins Franklin threatened Coby Wiebe to enter a guilty plea in a criminal case over which he had no jurisdiction, saying, “I heard you have a problem with me, boy. You take that deal, boy — or dead men can’t testify.” Two days later, the defendant entered a no-contest plea in a felony case.

Wiebe alleges that the threat made in October 2023 is part of a broader pattern of misconduct that Franklin exhibited and went unchecked by county officials, leading to a Monell claim against the county. A Monell claim is based on a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that allows a person to sue local governments for constitutional violations.

Phone records and a polygraph exam administered to Weibe led the Rains County District Attorney to file a motion to dismiss the felony sentence, and has since been granted judicial clemency.

“‘Defendant [Coby Wiebe] was coerced to testify falsely and to enter a plea of No Contest by an elected official of Rains County [Judge Jenkins Franklin], thus raising significant concerns about the voluntariness of plea.’ The State further urged the court to ‘set aside the verdict or permit the Defendant to withdraw his plea, dismiss the indictment against him, and that the Defendant be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction in this case.’”

Weibe alleges that Franklin’s threat violated his First, Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights as well as official oppression, witness tampering, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“This threat was intended to silence [Wiebe] from speaking in open court, suppress future legal action, and force a false narrative,” the lawsuit claims. “As a result, [Weibe] was intimidated and coerced into providing false testimony, and entering a No Contest plea under duress, calling into question the voluntariness and constitutionality of that plea.”

The plaintiff seeks that Franklin not receive judicial immunity as he was not acting as a judge in Wiebe’s criminal case. “Such conduct was criminal, personal and entirely extrajudicial,” the document reads. “As a result, judicial immunity is inapplicable.”

Due to Franklin’s alleged actions, Wiebe now seeks relief, including actual damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and compensatory damages for mental anguish, emotional distress and loss of liberty.