Does defendant's absence from the introductory hearing on the issue of prosecution witness Darlington affect his opportunity to defend against the charges?

Here, the record shows that defendant was absent from the courtroom when the prosecutor brought up the issue of prosecution witness Darlington attending the trial. The record also shows, however, that the trial court waited until defendant was brought into court, and then resumed the hearing in defendant's presence. Under these circumstances, we cannot say that defendant's brief absence from the introductory part of the hearing on the issue bore a reasonable and substantial relation to his full opportunity to defend against the charges. ( People v. Hines, supra, 15 Cal.4th at p. 1039, 64 Cal.Rptr.2d 594, 938 P.2d 388.)