Section 20.10 Rights of Defendant During Trial

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

A. (§20.10) Rights of Defendant During Trial

The basic source of a defendant’s rights under Missouri law is Mo. Const. art. I, § 18(a), which provides as follows:

That in criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the right to appear and defend, in person and by counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation; to meet the witnesses against him face to face; to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf; and a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county.

The annotations to this provision in Vernon’s Annotated Missouri Statutes provide a wealth of caselaw on the subject. The Missouri Rules of Criminal Procedure are helpful in further identifying these rights.

In homicide prosecutions, a defendant has the right to a verbatim transcript of the testimony at a preliminary hearing. Rule 22.10 mandates that the record be made and...