Opinion ID: 390861
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Right To Be Present at Trial

Text: 35 A defendant has a constitutional right to be present at all stages of his trial when his absence might frustrate the fairness of the proceedings. 20 Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 819 n.15, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2533 n.15, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); United States v. Brown, 571 F.2d 980 (6th Cir. 1978). In addition, Fed.R.Crim.P. 43 guarantees a defendant the right to be present at every stage of trial in federal cases. 21 See Rogers v. United States, 422 U.S. 35, 95 S.Ct. 2091, 45 L.Ed.2d 1 (1975); United States v. Benavides, 549 F.2d 392 (5th Cir. 1977). The abridgement of the right to be present at trial may in some cases constitute harmless error, see Rogers, supra; Benavides, supra, but (w)here there is any reasonable possibility of prejudice from the defendant's absence at any stage of the proceedings, a conviction cannot stand. Estes v. United States, 335 F.2d 609, 618 (5th Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 964, 85 S.Ct. 656, 13 L.Ed.2d 559 (1965). Hence, in many cases finding a defendant's involuntary absence at trial to have been harmless error, the court emphasizes the fact that while the defendant may have been absent, his attorney was present to protect his rights. See, e. g., United States v. Walls, 577 F.2d 690 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 893, 99 S.Ct. 251, 58 L.Ed.2d 239 (1978); United States v. Toliver, 541 F.2d 958 (2d Cir. 1976); Estes, supra, 335 F.2d at 617-18. 36 In the case at bar, the government correctly argues that Smith's absence was technically not an absence during his own trial, since the novel bifurcated trial severance ordered by the trial judge created a period during which only Smith's codefendants and not Smith himself were on trial. The government reasons that neither Smith nor Smith's counsel had a right to be present at the trial of the codefendants, and that their absence therefore cannot constitute reversible error. The government's argument masks the realities of the trial behind legal technicalities. 22 It is clear that even during his absence, Smith was for all practical purposes on trial before the jury which would decide his case. While the trial court's cautionary instruction was careful to order the jury not to reach the ultimate issue of defendant Smith's guilt or innocence , the jury was allowed to consider and determine whether Smith was a member of the conspiracy charged in Count One of the indictment, and to consider whether Smith, knowingly and wilfully, participated in the offense charged in Count Two of the indictment  Transcript at 12,066-67; see pages 1079-1080 supra. Since the focal points of the offenses charged were either racketeering involving Judge Smith's alleged use of his office for illicit purposes, or activities designed to cover up this racketeering, the jury must have considered Judge Smith's involvement when hearing evidence concerning the other defendants and when deliberating on the other defendants' guilt or innocence. The absence of both defendant Smith and his counsel during crucial stages of the trial including the government's summation during which the prosecutor referred to Smith a number of times, once calling him the arch conspirator, was for all practical purposes a clear abridgement of the right to be present at trial. Since there is far more than the mere possibility of prejudice resulting from this procedure, the trial court's error was not harmless and Smith's conviction cannot stand.