Opinion ID: 1237936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Presence at Other Hearings

Text: Defendant contends he was denied his statutory and constitutional right to be present at various hearings that occurred both before and after the events discussed in the preceding section. We conclude that defendant's presence was either validly waived or not required at each of these proceedings. 1. Voir Dire (21) Defendant was absent from jury voir dire during the morning of July 31, 1985, and again on August 5, 1985. Each time, defendant sent a note to the court explaining his absence and signed a waiver form. On July 31, defendant said in the note that he preferred to use the morning for a doctor's appointment and for court-ordered recreation at the jail. On August 5, defendant said in the note he preferred to use the time for exercise. Although the waiver forms were not executed in open court and did not use the precise language of section 977, they substantially complied with that provision. Accordingly, the waiver was valid under sections 977 and 1043, subdivision (d). Defendant maintains the waiver was involuntary because recreation and exercise were necessary to his physical and mental health and he could obtain them only by waiving his right to be present in court. We find insufficient support in the record for these factual assertions. The trial court had previously ordered that jail authorities provide defendant with five hours of exercise or recreation each week. If jail authorities interpreted or implemented this order in a manner that unreasonably interfered with defendant's right to be present during critical stages of the trial proceedings, defendant's remedy was to apply to the trial court for a further order. Having failed to exhaust this avenue of relief, defendant cannot claim that his decision to remain absent from a small portion of the jury selection proceedings, a decision in which his counsel concurred, was other than voluntary. 2. Requests to Relieve Defense Counsel (22a) On February 11, 1986, during the guilt trial and after defendant had waived his presence, defendant sent the court a memorandum purporting to be a motion to relieve Anna Klay, one of the two attorneys representing him. Defendant did not express any dissatisfaction with Klay's performance as his counsel. Rather, defendant sought to discharge her so she could testify to prior inconsistent statements of prosecution witness Clifford Smith without violating the rule that forbids an attorney to be both advocate and witness in the same proceeding (see rule 5-210 (formerly rule 2-111(A)(4)), Rules Prof. Conduct of State Bar; Comden v. Superior Court (1978) 20 Cal.3d 906 [145 Cal. Rptr. 9, 576 P.2d 971, 5 A.L.R.4th 562]). After an in camera hearing, the trial court deferred ruling on the motion. Ten days later, the trial court again discussed the motion with counsel, and it again declined to rule, finding the motion premature. On March 6, 1986, the court recited certain events that had occurred off the record. The previous day, Bernard DePaoli, the other attorney representing defendant, had received a card signed by defendant that read, You're fired. At the court's request, DePaoli attempted to discuss the matter with defendant, but defendant refused. The court then sent defendant a note saying he would have to give the court reasons before the court would discharge DePaoli. Defendant responded with a note that read, in relevant part: I have no comment. If you ... now or anytime in the future have need ..., please feel free to, as you have in the past, set up court on my tier in front of my cell. I will never set foot in your court, jury or not, ever again of my own free will. Having recited these events, the court concluded that because defendant had never made a request to the court to substitute counsel, and because he had declined to state reasons for his apparent dissatisfaction with DePaoli, the court would proceed with the trial. [11] Throughout this entire period, the trial court advised defendant daily by note that he was welcome to come to court and would be brought to court if he donned civilian clothing and agreed to be shackled in the courtroom. By his conduct and by his written replies, including the note quoted in the preceding paragraph, defendant waived his presence in a manner that substantially complied with section 977. (23) Moreover, a defendant does not have a right to be present at every hearing held in the course of a trial. During trial, a defendant is not entitled to be personally present at the court's discussions with counsel occurring outside the jury's presence on questions of law or other matters unless the defendant's presence bears a reasonable and substantial relation to a full opportunity to defend against the charges. [Citation.] A defendant claiming a violation of the right to personal presence at trial bears the burden of demonstrating that personal presence could have substantially benefited the defense. [Citation.] ( People v. Lang, supra, 49 Cal.3d 991, 1027; see also People v. Medina (1990) 51 Cal.3d 870, 902-903 [274 Cal. Rptr. 849, 799 P.2d 1282].) (22b) At the hearings held on February 11 and 21, the court and counsel discussed a variety of legal issues posed by Attorney Klay's apparent knowledge of prior inconsistent statements by a prosecution witness. No evidence was taken and the court made no rulings. Defendant's presence at these hearings could not have assisted his defense. At the hearing on March 6, the court merely recited certain developments that had occurred and concluded these developments did not require any ruling or other action by the court. Because defendant expressly refused to comment on his reasons for wishing to discharge Attorney DePaoli, his presence could not have assisted his defense. 3. Motion for Acquittal and Rulings on Exhibits (24) On March 20 and 24, 1986, the court conducted a hearing outside the jury's presence on a defense motion for acquittal (§ 1118.1) and determined the admissibility of guilt phase exhibits. On June 26, 1986, the court conducted a similar hearing on the admissibility of penalty phase exhibits. Defendant was not personally present at these hearings. Because defendant has not shown that his personal presence at these hearings would have substantially benefited the defense, the trial court did not err in conducting them in his absence. (See People v. Medina, supra, 51 Cal.3d 870, 902-903; People v. Harris (1981) 28 Cal.3d 935, 955 [171 Cal. Rptr. 679, 623 P.2d 240].)