Rule 16 Presence of Accused at Trial

If you're charged with a crime in South Carolina, you generally have the right to be in the courtroom during your trial. But this rule says you can give up that right in most cases, as long as the crime isn't one that could lead to the death penalty.

For the trial to go forward without you, the court has to make sure two things happened first. You must have been told that you have the right to be there, and you must have been warned that if you don't show up, the trial will happen anyway without you. If both of those things happened and you still don't come to court, the judge can move forward with the trial in your absence.

This rule exists so that someone can't stop a trial just by refusing to show up. If you were properly warned and you skip your court date anyway, the case can still be heard and decided without you sitting in the courtroom. The only exception is when the death penalty is a possible punishment. In those cases, you must be present for the trial.