Compulsory Process Clause
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The Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right...to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 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).
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