Sixth Amendment -- Preclusion of Defense Witnesses and the Sixth Amendment's Compulsory Process Clause Right to Present a Defense

• NCJ Number: 116481
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1988) Pages: 835-865
• Author(s): J Stocker
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses a recent Supreme Court holding that a trial court's preclusion of a witness's testimony as a sanction for a violation of discovery rules did not violate the compulsory process clause of the sixth amendment.

Abstract

The facts and procedural history of the case, Taylor v. Illinois, are detailed, with emphasis on the Court's failure to apply a balancing test in deciding the case. The article argues that in establishing a standard for a trial court to preclude testimony when a willful violation of discovery rules occurs, the Court did not consider all the important factors to be balanced. As a result, the defendant was denied his sixth amendment right to present testimony in his behalf. The article argues for a detailed balancing test to be used by courts when deciding to preclude testimony so that defendants' right to present testimony can be protected. 246 footnotes.