Opinion ID: 1246024
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Presence at the Preliminary Hearing

Text: As the district attorney has accurately pointed out, our court has stated in a number of cases that a defendant must be present . . . at every critical stage of the proceeding in a criminal prosecution. Penny v. People, 146 Colo. 95, 360 P.2d 671 (1961); Holland v. People, 30 Colo. 94, 69 P. 519 (1902). See Schott v. People, 174 Colo. 15, 482 P.2d 101 (1971); Bell v. People, 158 Colo. 146, 406 P.2d 681 (1965); Strong v. People, 80 Colo. 284, 250 P. 857 (1926). All of the cases which are cited involve the right of a defendant to be present to cooperate with his counsel in his defense and to confront the witnesses who appear against him. U.S.Const., Amend. VI; Colo.Const., Art. II, § 16. In this case, we are not dealing with the denial of the defendant's constitutional rights, but with the defendant's refusal to appear at the preliminary hearing. The Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure relating to a preliminary hearing (Crim. P. 5 and Crim. P. 7), were intended to create a preliminary screening device. The preliminary hearing affords a defendant an opportunity, at an early stage of the criminal proceedings, to challenge the sufficiency of the prosecution's evidence before an impartial judge. People v. Quinn, Colo., 516 P.2d 420 (1973). However, the preliminary hearing is not intended to be a mandatory procedural step in every criminal prosecution. Crim. P. 5(c) and Crim. P. 7(g). If a defendant does not request a preliminary hearing, he is deemed to have waived the preliminary hearing and must be bound over for trial. Crim. P. 5(d). Moreover, a defendant who requests a preliminary hearing and then affirmatively waives the hearing is presumed to have admitted, at the preliminary hearing stage, that probable cause exists to believe that he committed the crime charged. People ex rel. Farina v. District Court, supra . See Giordenello v. United States, 357 U.S. 480, 78 S.Ct. 1245, 2 L.Ed.2d 1503 (1958). When a defendant requests a preliminary hearing, he has not only the constitutional right to be present, but is under an affirmative obligation and duty to appear at the hearing. See Penny v. People, supra ; White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59, 83 S.Ct. 1050, 10 L.Ed.2d 193 (1963). When the defendant is present, the court, in its discretion, can determine the procedures which should be followed to insure that justice is done. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 87 S.Ct. 1926, 18 L.Ed.2d 1149 (1967); Gilbert v. California, 388 U. S. 263, 87 S.Ct. 1951, 18 L.Ed.2d 1178 (1967); Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 87 S.Ct. 1967, 18 L.Ed.2d 1199 (1967). See N. Sobel, Eye-Witness Identification (1972); Levine and Tapp, The Psychology of Criminal Identification: The Gap From Wade to Kirby, 121 Univ. of Pa.L.Rev. 1079 (1973). The court may, when a timely request is made, permit the defendant to waive his presence at the preliminary hearing if the ends of justice would not be frustrated. But the tactical ploy of refusing to produce a defendant at the preliminary hearing to frustrate the prosecution's case should not be tolerated. See Taylor v. United States, 414 U.S. 17, 94 S.Ct. 194, 38 L.Ed.2d 174 (1973); Fed.Rules Crim. Proc. 43.