Walker v. State

RAKER, Judge.

This case presents the question of whether a trial court may permit a criminal trial to proceed in the defendant’s absence if the defendant is informed of when the trial will commence and then voluntarily fails to appear on that date. We answer in the affirmative.

After a jury trial in absentia in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, appellants Lebon Bruce Walker and Patricia Annette Lee were each convicted of conspiracy to commit theft and nine counts of theft of property having a value of $300 or greater, in violation of Maryland Code (1957, 1992 Repl.Vol., 1993 Cum.Supp.)…