Lazarus C. Finney v. Harry J. Rothgerber, Jr., Kentucky Parole Board, George Wilson

LIVELY, Chief Judge.

Two issues are presented in this habeas corpus appeal. The first is whether the state trial court violated a criminal defendant’s constitutional right to be present at every stage of the proceedings by denying a motion to postpone the conclusion of the trial when the defendant failed to return to the courtroom following a luncheon recess. If the first issue is not dispositive, the second is whether the trial court violated the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right to be free of compulsory self-incrimination by declining to give a requested instruction in the persistent felony…