Part 5General provisions
Conduct of proceeding: Powers of court when defendant does not appear
119Non-attendance of defendant charged with offence in category 1
This section applies to any hearing, including a sentencing hearing, if—
- the offence charged is a category 1 offence; and
- the defendant is required, under section 118, to be present at the hearing; and
- the prosecutor attends the hearing, but the defendant does not.
The court may proceed with the hearing in the absence of the defendant.
If the court proceeds with a trial in the absence of the defendant, it must proceed as if the defendant had entered a plea of not guilty.
Despite subsection (2), a court may not impose a community-based sentence on a defendant in the defendant’s absence.
If the defendant pleads, or is found, guilty and the court has reason to believe that a community-based sentence may be imposed on the defendant, the court may—
- issue a summons to bring the defendant before the court; or
- issue a warrant to arrest the defendant to bring him or her before the court.
Compare
- 1957 No 87 s 61(b)(ii)
Notes
- Section 119(4): inserted, on , by section 33 of the Courts Matters Act 2018 (2018 No 50).
- Section 119(5): inserted, on , by section 33 of the Courts Matters Act 2018 (2018 No 50).