Presence of Defendant: When Mandatory, Permissive

(a) The defendant shall be present at the arraignment, at the time of the plea, at every stage of the trial including the impaneling of the jury and return of the verdict, and at the imposition of sentence, except as otherwise provided by this Section. (b) The further progress of the trial to and including the return of the verdict shall not be prevented and the defendant shall be considered to have waived his right to be present whenever he, initially present: (1) Voluntarily absents himself after the trial has commenced (whether or not he has been informed by the court of his obligation to remain during the trial), or (2) Engages in conduct which is such as to justify his being excluded from the courtroom. (c) A defendant need not be present in the following situations: (1) A corporation may appear by counsel for all purposes. (2) In a prosecution for an offense not a felony, the court, with the written consent of the defendant, may permit arraignment, plea, trial and imposition of sentence in the defendant's absence. (3) At a conference or argument upon a question of law. (4) At a reduction of sentence under § 120.46. COMMENT: Section 1.13 is substantially the same as former Rule 43 and former § 1396. See also Fed. R. Crim. P. 43. See generally 8A Moore, Federal Practice ¶43.01-43.04 (1974). However, the section has been conformed to proposed revisions of the federal rule. Subsection (a) now includes a reference to all plea proceedings. See, e.g., § 60.80 (plea agreements). Subsection (b) makes clear that trial properly may be continued where the defendant engages in conduct justifying his exclusion from the courtroom. See, Moore, supra at 43-8 to 43-9 and footnotes. Similarly, Paragraph (3) of Subsection (c) is an additional clarifying change and makes no change in the law. See, Moore, supra ¶43.03[2].