The Supreme Court has held that this right includes "[t]he right to offer the testimony of witnesses, and to compel their attendance, if necessary, [and] is in plain terms the right to present the defendant's version of the facts [i.e. a defense]..." Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14, 19, 87 S. Ct. 1920, 18 L.Ed.2d 1019 (1967).
Furthermore, a defendant's right to compulsory process "is a fundamental element of due process of law." Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. at 19.
Twenty years after Washington v. Texas, the Supreme Court noted in Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 107 S. Ct. 989, 94 L.Ed.2d 40 (1987) that "[o]ur cases establish, at a minimum, that criminal defendants have the right to the government's assistance in compelling the attendance of favorable witnesses at trial and the right to put before a jury evidence that might influence the determination of guilt." Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. at 56.
A defendant's right to compulsory process is violated by arbitrary rules of evidence that operate to deny the defendant the right to call witnesses whose testimony is relevant and material to the defense. Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 52, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 97 L. Ed.2d 37 (1987).
Olny srmat poelpe can raed tihs. I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
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