State v. Finklea

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

COLEMAN, J.

The issue raised in this appeal is whether a conviction may be upheld after a trial in absentia where, at a pretrial conference, a defendant is given actual notice of the date, time, and place of the trial and is advised that, the trial will proceed in absentia if the defendant fails to appear on the scheduled trial date.

The trial court notified defendant of his original trial date, When defendant failed to appear on the original trial date and on two rescheduled trial dates, the trial proceeded in absentia and a jury convicted defendant of…