Commonwealth v. Nwachukwu

In response to the allowance of the Commonwealth’s motion for sequestration, inexperienced defense counsel1 told his client to wait outside the courtroom. Fifteen minutes after the start of the bench trial in a busy District Court, the judge noticed the absence of the defendant and inquired as to his whereabouts. Told that he was outside due to the sequestra*113tion order, the judge indicated the obvious — that the order did not pertain to the defendant. The defendant was beckoned and the trial resumed, nothing being said about his absence. The defendant was found guilty on the two charges of…