Kesterson v. Jarrett

Nahmias, Justice.

Under the longstanding law of Georgia, the parties to a lawsuit. have a fundamental right to be present in court during the trial of their case. The issue presented in this appeal is whether a party máy be denied that right and excluded from the courtroom because her *381physical and mental condition may evoke undue sympathy from the jury and thereby improperly prejudice the other party. This appears to be a question of first impression for Georgia’s appellate courts, likely because exclusion of a party from trial for this reason is such an exceptional event in this State. In…