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11. General principles of criminal defense
 
  Article 63-General principles of Criminal defense  
63.1 General principles of Criminal defense  
  The just presentation of a criminal defense is an essential component to the proper operation of criminal justice.  
63.2 Essential principles of criminal defense  
  (1) Everyone has a right to a counsel in the pre-criminal and in the court procedure.  
  (2) Everyone has a right to competent counsel;  
  (3) Everyone has a right to defend themselves is they so choose;  
63.3 Presence of defendant  
  In all prosecutions for felonies, the defendant must be personally present at the trial, and he must likewise be present in all cases of misdemeanor when the punishment or any part thereof is imprisonment in jail; provided, however, that in all cases, when the defendant voluntarily absents himself after pleading to the indictment or information, or after the jury has been selected when trial is before a jury, the trial may proceed to its conclusion.  
  When the record in the appellate court shows that the defendant was present at the commencement, or any portion of the trial, it shall be presumed in the absence of all evidence in the record to the contrary that he was present during the whole trial. Provided, however, that the presence of the defendant shall not be required at the hearing on the motion for new trial in any misdemeanor case.  
63.4 May appear by counsel  
  In other misdemeanor cases, the defendant may, by consent of the State's attorney, appear by counsel, and the trial may proceed without his personal presence.  
     
     
 
 

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