Defendant's Right To Testify

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

VI. Defendant's right to testify

The defendant's right to testify is a right guaranteed both federally and in Maryland by the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause, the Sixth Amendment Compulsory Process Clause, the Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination; and Articles 21 and 22 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Burnside v. State, 459 Md. 657, 669 (2018) (internal citations omitted).

The Fifth Amendment right "not to" testify includes the right "to" testify. Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 52 (1987). There may be reasonable restrictions on the defendant's right to testify. In Rock, the Supreme Court stated:

[T]he

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