In what circumstances will a defendant be allowed to cross-examine a witness in front of the jury in the witness box?

In People v. Garcia, supra, 2 Cal.2d 673, 42 P.2d 1013, in the early part of the trial, the defendant claimed his view of the witness chair was partially obscured by the clerk's desk. The court refused to rearrange the furniture; however, after some witnesses had been called, the prosecution exchanged seats with the defendant to adjust the situation. The court found no prejudice.

In People v. Williams, supra, the witness was permitted to sit facing the jury with her back to spectators and defendant to protect her from alleged intimidation from spectators. The court held "(the) seating arrangement adopted should have been avoided, but it did not deprive the defendants of the rights of confrontation and a public trial." (32 Cal.2d at p. 82, 195 P.2d 393.) The court noted there was no objection by defendant to this seating arrangement and that the importance of the witness' testimony was questionable in that the defendants were convicted by their own admissions prior to trial and on the witness stand and by other independent evidence.

In United States v. Benfield (8th Cir. 1979) 593 F.2d 815, defendant was convicted of misprision of a felony for his failure to report the kidnapping[117 Cal.App.3d 670] of an adult woman by another couple. The victim's mental health was impaired, her psychiatrist testifying she could not endure the stress of courtroom appearances. The prosecution's request to videotape her deposition was granted, the defendant to be present but not within her vision. At the deposition, defendant was placed in an adjoining room with a television monitor and a buzzer. He was able to observe the proceedings and halt the questioning to confer with his attorney and his attorney was permitted to cross-examine the victim, who was unaware of defendant's observation. The videotaped deposition was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. In reversing, the appellate court stated: