California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Sandoval, 196 Cal.Rptr.3d 424, 363 P.3d 41, 62 Cal.4th 394 (Cal. 2015):
" 'Broadly stated, a criminal defendant has a right to be personally present at certain pretrial proceedings and at trial under various provisions of law, including the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, section 15 of article I of the California Constitution, and sections 977 and 1043. [Citation.]' [Citations.] ' "A defendant, however, 'does not have a right to be present at every hearing held in the course of a trial.' " ' " (People v. Jennings (2010) 50 Cal.4th 616, 681, 114 Cal.Rptr.3d 133, 237 P.3d 474 (Jennings ).) A defendant has a right under the Fourteenth Amendment to be present "at a 'stage ... that is critical to [the] outcome' and [if] defendant's 'presence would contribute to the fairness of the procedure.' " (Id. at pp. 681682, 114 Cal.Rptr.3d 133, 237 P.3d 474.)
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