State v. Brousseau

¶54 (dissenting) — The constitutional requirement of due process of law and the trial procedures that derive from it exist to safeguard against wrongful convictions. This case is about what process is constitutionally required to protect a defendant from facing trial based on incompetent witness testimony. Our deferential review of a trial court’s competency determination for abuse of discretion is premised on our appreciation that it is the trial judge who can see, hear, and otherwise observe a witness’s testimony, replete with mannerisms, tone, poise, and any unease or hesitations. Here,…