Currently material witnesses lack the basic protection granted to all criminal defendants. They do not have adequate protection against unfair detention and police abuse. The police sometimes misuse existing material witness statutes to incarcerate a suspect until they gather enough evidence to formally charge the material witness as a criminal defendant. Material witnesses should have a mandatory right to counsel both for their own protection and for the encouragement of witness participation in the criminal justice system. Providing counsel need not threaten defendants' constitutional rights to confront their accusers. Proposed model law and analysis of past and current Federal legislation to establish the right to counsel for material witnesses. 107 footnotes.