State v. Turner

Defendant appeals his conviction by a jury for second degree criminal trespass. ORS 164.245. He assigns error to the trial court’s conducting the trial without his presence and to its denial of his motion to suppress. We reverse.

ORS 136.040 permits the court to conduct a trial in the defendant’s absence if the charge is a misdemeanor and the defendant appears by counsel. 1 Before doing so, however, the court must determine that the defendant voluntarily waived the right to be present. State v. Harris, 291 Or 179, 630 P2d 332 (1981); see also In re Jordan, 290 Or 669, 624 P2d 1074 (1981).…