Dallas v. State

It is well-established that a criminal defendant’s right to testify in his or her defense is firmly rooted, as enunciated by the United States Supreme Court, see United States v. Dunnigan, 507 U.S. 87, 96, 113 S.Ct. 1111, 1117, 122 L.Ed.2d 445, 454 (1993); Rock v. Arkansas, 483 U.S. 44, 51, 107 S.Ct. 2704, 2708-09, 97 L.Ed.2d 37, 46 (1987); Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157, 164, 106 S.Ct. 988, 993, 89 L.Ed.2d 123, 133 (1986), in three provisions of the federal Constitution. First, the right to testify, “ ‘essential to due process of law in a fair adversary process,’ ” Rock, 483 U.S. at 51, 107…