§ 33-3-707 — Evidence - Witnesses - Continuances - Presence or exclusion of transferee

(a) The court shall give the plaintiff, the transferee, and all other persons to whom the clerk is required to give notice of the proceeding an opportunity to appear at the hearing, to testify, and to present and cross-examine witnesses. (b) The transferee shall be present at the hearing unless the transferee waives the right to be present in writing. If the transferee's attorney shows that the transferee's physical health would be endangered by being at the hearing, the court may order a continuance until the risk is terminated. If the court determines that the transferee's conduct at the hearing is so violent or otherwise disruptive that it creates a serious risk of harm to the transferee or others at the hearing or so disrupts the proceedings that they cannot be conducted in a proper manner, the court may order the transferee restrained or excluded to the extent necessary to the proper conduct of the proceedings. If the transferee is not present at or is excluded from the hearing, the court shall make a written fact finding as to why the hearing is held in the transferee's absence.

Legislative History

Acts 1984, ch. 922, § 5; 2000, ch. 947, § 1.