The Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions...

 provides that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right...to have compulsory process for obtaining witness

Witness

A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...

es in his favor."

The compulsory process means that a court can order a person to come to court to testify and give evidence in a case. If the person fails to heed the court, subpoena is served on him/her. He/she can be prosecuted, even arrested, for contempt of the court.

The Compulsory Process Clause was construed to prohibit the application of a state statute that made persons charged or convicted as co-participants in a common crime incompetent to testify on behalf of one another. Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14 (1967).