Suppose Joe is falsely charged with a crime and must defend himself. The key witness for his defense, Mike, is located a few states away and Joe cannot afford to pay the costs associated with getting Mike to miss work and come to court.
I know that the government provides an attorney (i.e. a public defender) to poor defendants, but does the government pay so that the Defendant can get the testimony and evidence he needs?
In federal court, where a criminal defendant is unable to pay a witness, the witness is paid as if the government had called them. This is provided for in Rule 17(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.
A witness subpoenaed by the defendant in a criminal action is not entitled as of right to witness and mileage fees, but the court may in its discretion, by order, direct the county treasurer to pay to such a witness a reasonable sum for expenses, to be specified in the order.
All Crown witnesses and criminal defence witnesses that have been subpoenaed are remunerated by the government. As are witnesses where the defendant has qualified for legal aid.
By the way, only an idiot does not subpoena their witnesses because it makes their attendance required by law. If your alibi witness has not been subpoenaed and decides they’d rather go to the beach than attend court, the court is going to say “You didn’t subpoena them? Not my problem. Call your next witness.”
The court pays all witnesses a specified day wage for appearing. Participation in criminal cases is mandatory and neither party may pay witnesses for delivering testimony. Those costs may end up on the bill of the losing party.
See also this answer
