 The Supreme Court reasoned that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment made the right to be able to compel defense witnesses to testify necessary for a defendant 's " due process " rights to fair proceedings , which applies to the states . Only Justice John Marshall Harlan II parted from the Court 's " due process " focus , though he agreed with the outcome , as he regularly did in cases involving whether to apply federal rights to state courts . 
