State v. Cassidy

567 N.W.2d 707, 1997 Minn. LEXIS 579, 1997 WL 460760
Supreme Court of Minnesota·Decided August 14, 1997·No. C2-95-831·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinions

OPINION

PAGE, Justice.

On January 19, 1995, Derek Jay Cassidy was convicted by a Marshall County jury of the crime of transporting unstamped packages of cigarettes in violation of Minn.Stat. § 297.11, subd. 5 (1996). Cassidy’s trial1 commenced on January 18, 1995, and was scheduled to last two days. On the morning of the second day, Cassidy failed to appear. He did, however, call the court and indicate that he had been unable to get a ride back to the trial and was stranded on the Roseau River Indian Reservation in Canada, where his home was located. The trial proceeded in his absence and Cassidy was found guilty. The court of appeals held that the trial court abused its discretion when it concluded that Cassidy’s absence was voluntary, but upheld the conviction on the grounds that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Before this court, Cassidy claims that the trial court abused its discretion and committed prejudicial error when it ordered that the trial proceed in his absence. Because the trial record is inadequate for this court, on review, to make a determination as to whether Cassidy’s absence from the trial on the second day was voluntary, we reverse and remand for a new trial.

At Cassidy’s trial, the state presented its entire case on the first day, with Cassidy in attendance. After the prosecution rested, the defense called and completed the testimony of its first witness after which the trial was recessed until 9:00 a.m. the next morning. Cassidy returned to his home in Canada that evening to spend the night and to pick up a witness who was to testify on his behalf the next day. When the trial resumed the next morning, Cassidy was not present. At approximately 9:15 a.m. that morning, [709] Cassidy called the courthouse, and a telephone conference was arranged between Cassidy, his attorney, the prosecutor, and the trial judge. The judge gave Cassidy an opportunity to explain his absence from court, and Cassidy indicated that the car he had borrowed to travel to the trial on the first day and which he had previously arranged to use to return to the trial on the second day was unavailable because of an emergency in the car owner’s family. According to Cassi-dy, he tried until 3 a.m. that morning to arrange other transportation, but was not successful. Further discussion took place and, in the end, Cassidy stated, “[yjour Hon- or, for the record I want to be there for the whole trial.” The trial court ordered that the trial proceed with Cassidy absent, and the jury found him guilty.

The basic principles governing the right of an accused person to be present at trial are well-settled. “[A]n accused has a [constitutional] right to be present at all stages of the trial where his absence might frustrate the fairness of the proceedings.” Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 819 n. 15, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 2533 n. 15, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975). The right to be present during trial is based on the confrontation clause of the Sixth Amendment2 and is applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. State v. Grey, 256 N.W.2d 74, 76 (Minn.1977). The right to be present is also “protected by the Due Process Clause in some situations where the defendant is not actually confronting witnesses or evidence against him.” United States v. Gagnon, 470 U.S. 522, 526, 105 S.Ct. 1482, 1484, 84 L.Ed.2d 486 (1985).

Like any constitutional right, the right to be present at trial may be waived by the accused. Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97, 106, 54 S.Ct. 330, 332, 78 L.Ed. 674 (1934); see also Taylor v. United States, 414 U.S. 17, 20, 94 S.Ct. 194, 196, 38 L.Ed.2d 174 (1973) (“The right at issue is the right to be present, and the question becomes whether that right was effectively waived by [defendant’s] voluntary absence.”) “A waiver is an intentional relinquishment of a known right or privilege, and its validity depends * * * upon the particular facts and circumstances surrounding the case * * State v. Richards, 456 N.W.2d 260, 264 (Minn.1990). Typically, courts will imply a waiver when a defendant is absent without explanation. See United States v. Mackey, 915 F.2d 69, 73 (2d Cir.1990). Courts will also imply a waiver from a defendant’s conduct. Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 342-43, 90 S.Ct. 1057, 1060-61, 25 L.Ed.2d 353 (1970). A defendant’s “voluntary absence without compelling justification * * * constitutes a waiver of the right to be present.” United States v. Rogers, 853 F.2d 249, 252 (4th Cir.1988). However, in determining whether a constitutional right has been waived, “courts must indulge every reasonable presumption against the loss of constitutional rights.” Allen, 397 U.S. at 343, 90 S.Ct. at 1060.

The Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure also speak directly to the issue before us. Rule 26.03 requires that a defendant must be present at trial. Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.03, subd. 1(1). The right to be present under this rule is broader than those rights guaranteed by either the Sixth or Fourteenth Amendments. State v. Ware, 498 N.W.2d 454, 457 (Minn.1993). The rule specifically states that the “defendant shall be present * * * at every stage of the trial * * * except as otherwise provided by these rules.” Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.03, subd. 1(1). One of the exceptions found in subdivision 1(2) of the same rule, states:

The further progress of a trial to and including the return of the verdict shall not be prevented and the defendant shall be considered to waive the right to be present whenever:
1. a defendant voluntarily and without justification absents himself or herself after trial has commenced * * *.

Minn. R.Crim. P. 26.03, subd. 1(2).

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State v. Cassidy, 567 N.W.2d 707, 1997 Minn. LEXIS 579, 1997 WL 460760 (Mich. 1997).

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State v. Cassidy
567 N.W.2d 707 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1997)