State v. Pruitt

¶1 An accused has a constitutional right “ ‘to be present in his own person whenever his presence has a relation, reasonably substantial, to the ful [1] ness of his opportunity to defend against the charge,’ ” even in situations where the defendant is not actually confronting witnesses or evidence against him.1 This right is not unlimited, for example, “ ‘when presence would be useless, or the benefit but a shadow.’ ”2 But an accused “is guaranteed the right to be present at any stage of the criminal proceeding that is critical to its outcome if his presence would contribute to the fairness…