Opinion ID: 2720490
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Other Absences

Text: In addition to the hearings discussed above, defendants were absent from a number of other proceedings. Defendants personally or through counsel orally waived their right to be present at most of these.74 Defendants claim that as a general matter, the federal Constitution mandates that a capital defendant be personally present at all trial proceedings, even if the defendant purports to waive that right. They also point out that state law prohibits a capital defendant from voluntarily waiving his presence during the taking of trial evidence, and requires written waivers of the right to be present. (See §§ 977, 1043; People v. Weaver (2001) 26 Cal.4th 876,967-968.) Defendants assert that any violation of the statutes comprises the ―arbitrary deprivation‖ of a right secured by state law under Hicks v. Oklahoma, supra, 447 U.S. at page 346, and thus constitutes federal constitutional error as well. They urge the Attorney General has not carried the burden of demonstrating the asserted federal constitutional error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and that, applying state law, there is a reasonable probability of a more favorable result had the error not occurred. The claim of federal constitutional error based on the mere fact of defendants‘ absences is without merit. Defendants make no effort to demonstrate that any of the proceedings were critical stages of the trial under the applicable standard, that their presence was necessary to ensure the full opportunity to defend themselves at a fair trial. 74 Bryant specifically mentions his absence without waivers from a discovery hearing and at the reassignment of the case after the first trial judge had been recused. He also challenges his absences following oral waivers from another discovery proceeding, a hearing on the admissibility of codefendant Settle‘s post-arrest statements, and during guilt phase deliberations after the jury had reached verdicts on the charges against him. 156 Further, the record does not support such a conclusion. As to waiver, contrary to defendants‘ arguments, the federal Constitution does not prohibit a capital defendant from waiving his right to be present at a critical trial stage. (Rundle, supra, 43 Cal.4th at p. 135.) Any statutory error in the trial court‘s accepting oral, rather than written, waivers is not elevated to federal constitutional error by invoking Hicks. (Rundle, at p. 136.) In sum, defendants have not established any error that would be subject to the Chapman standard. To the extent their absences at proceedings based on oral waivers violated the statutes, defendants have presented no support for the conclusion there is either a reasonable probability at the guilt phase or reasonable possibility at the penalty phase that the outcome would have been more favorable had defendants been required to make written waivers or forced to attend the proceedings despite their wishes to be absent.75 (See Rundle, at pp. 135-136.)