Section 20.12 Right to Be Personally Present

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

C. (§20.12) Right to Be Personally Present

The defendant has the right to be personally present at all stages of the trial. Rules 31.02 and 31.03. Rule 31.03(a) does provide that, by agreement, in misdemeanor cases the defendant’s presence can be waived. This is a practical necessity, or the traffic court docket would become unmanageable.

Another exception is provided by Rule 31.03(b), which allows a defendant to voluntarily be absent when a verdict is received.

Rule 31.01 codifies a defendant’s right to promptly, upon request, be permitted to consult with counsel. This is an important right. In State v. Ikerman, 698 S.W.2d 902 (Mo. App. E.D. 1985), the court held that, although a defendant may not have had a constitutional right to counsel when requested to submit to a warrantless taking of a blood sample for intoxication testing while he was at a hospital following an accident, his limited rights under Rule 31.01 and § 544.170, now RSMo Supp. 2004, were violated by refusing him the opportunity to consult with his mother, an attorney, or anyone at the hospital. The results of the test were properly suppressed. Ikerman is worth reading for its discussion of the rights of defendants to consult with counsel relative to a police request that they submit to an alcohol test under the Missouri implied consent law.

The fact that defendants have a right to be personally present at all stages does not necessarily mean that it is always a good idea for them to be present. For example, there may be conferences in chambers when it is really better that they not be present. It has been held that an action taken outside the presence of defendants is a ground for reversal...