Washington v. Texas (1966)
- Docket
- 649
- Decided
- 1966-01-01
Summary
Question: (1) Is the Sixth Amendment compulsory process clause applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment? (2) Does a state statute prohibiting persons charged together in the same crime from testifying for each other violate the Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process? Conclusion: Yes, Yes. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, writing for eight members of the court, reversed the lower court. The Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to compulsory process is so fundamental that it is incorporated in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Washington was denied that right in this case. Justice John M. Harlan concurred in the result, writing that Washington’s right to due process was violated, but the compulsory process clause played no role in his decision.