In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use it usually pertains to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial. For more than 100 years, courts in the United States have held that, according to the United States Constitution, a criminal defendant's right to appear in person at their trial, as a matter of due process is protected under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
Hopefully I shall be have my heart bypass today so I have scheduled my words and phrases blog to bring up one a day for the next few weeks 'in absentia'. As a result if you make any comments it may be some time before they are moderated and posted.
February
6 years ago
