The Right to Compulsory Process for Favorable Witness
The Sixth Amendment allows the defendant the right to use the compulsory process of the court to call and enforce the attendance of any witness, who may provide testimony or information or materials favorable to the defense or against the prosecution,
Even an indigent defendant who cannot bear the expenses of the aforesaid process to call the witness is also entitled to this right at the cost of the state.
Statutes designating persons as incompetent to testify on behalf of the defendant have been held to be unconstitutional.
A defendant also enjoys a Sixth Amendment right to choose to depose or give evidence on his own behalf in witness action. This is contrary to the common law position which considered a defendant incompetent to testify on his own behalf in as much as he has a vested interest in the outcome or results of the proceedings.
