II.24. Rights of the Accused
In all 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 or district in which the offense is alleged to have been committed, subject to the right of the state to have a change of venue for any of the causes for which the defendant may obtain the same.Mont. Const. art. II, § 24 (1972).
History
Sources
1884 Montana Constitution
"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 or district in which the offense is alleged to have been committed."Mont. Const. art. I, § 16 (1884).
1889 Montana Constitution
"In all 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 or district in which the offense is alleged to have been committed, subject to the right of the state to have a change of venue for any of the causes for which the defendant may obtain the same."Mont. Const. art. III, § 16 (1889).
Other Sources
1972 Constitutional Convention
Delegate James announced to the Convention that "[t]he committee voted unanimously to retain the former Article III, section 16 unchanged. The committee felt it was an admirable statement of the fundamental procedural rights of an accused. No delegate proposals were received on this provision." Delegate James explained that "this section is basically the same as Article VI in the Bill of Rights in the federal Constitution," and was remained unchanged from the 1889 version because it "has stood the test of time, and . . . it should be adopted as is."Mont. Const. Convention, Verbatim Transcr., March 9, 1972, p. 1776. This section was adopted without opposition by the delegates of the Convention.See Mont. const. Convention, Verbatim Transcr., March 18, 1972, p. 2653-54. The only discussion about Article II, Section 24 involved the inclusion of the word "district." Because Montana is divided into counties rather than districts, Delegate James clarified that the section was referring to "county judicial district," or "if we set up a district system eventually in our state, this could apply."Mont. Const. Convention, Verbatim Transcr., March 9, 1972, p. 1776.