Rule 2.27 - Presence of the defendant; regulation of conduct by the court2.27(1)Defendant's appearance. The defendant is required to appear as follows: a. Initial appearance, arraignment, and plea. The defendant must be present personally or by interactive audiovisual system at the initial appearance, arraignment, and plea unless a written waiver is filed as provided in rule 2.2(2) (c) or rule 2.8(1) (e).b. Other pretrial court proceedings. The defendant must be present personally or by interactive audiovisual system at other pretrial court proceedings unless either (1) the proceeding is not a critical stage of the proceedings and the court waives the defendant's appearance or (2) the defendant waives appearance with the approval of the court.c. Depositions. With the consent of the prosecuting attorney, the defendant may waive presence at a deposition. The defendant's attorney shall make a record of the waiver at the deposition. Otherwise, the defendant is required to be present subject to rule 2.13(5) and (6)(c).d. Trial proceedings. The defendant must be personally present at every stage of the trial, including the impaneling of the jury and the return of the verdict.e. Sentencing. Except as provided in rule 2.27(3) (c), the defendant must be personally present at the imposition of sentence. Sentencing may proceed by interactive audiovisual system with the consent of all parties.f. Defendant in prison or incarcerated by another authority. When the defendant is in prison or is in the custody of the federal government or another state, at the defendant's request and with the agreement of the State, the defendant may appear by interactive audiovisual system for any matter except the trial itself.2.27(2)When the court may proceed in the defendant's absence. In all cases, the progress of the trial or any other proceeding shall not be prevented whenever a defendant, initially present:a. Is voluntarily absent after the trial or other proceeding has commenced.b. Engages in conduct justifying exclusion from the courtroom.2.27(3)Presence not required. A defendant need not be present in the following situations: a. A corporation may appear by its attorney for all purposes.b. The defendant's presence is not required for a reduction of sentence or a correction of a clerical error in a sentence.c. If the offense is a misdemeanor or nonforcible class "D" felony and the parties have entered into a written agreement as to sentence that requests the court to proceed to sentencing without the presence of the parties or making of a record, the court may enter judgment in accordance with the sentencing agreement.2.27(4)Regulation of conduct in the courtroom.a. When a defendant engages in conduct seriously disruptive of judicial proceedings, one or more of the following steps may be employed to ensure decorum in the courtroom: (1) Citing the defendant for contempt.(2) Removing the defendant from the courtroom until the defendant promises to behave properly.(3) Restraining the defendant, while keeping the defendant present.b. The court may direct that any person in the courtroom be searched for a weapon or other prohibited item, and any weapon or other prohibited item may be retained subject to order of the court.c. The court may have removed from the courtroom any person whose exclusion is necessary to preserve the integrity or order of the proceedings.66GA, ch 1245(2), § 1301; 67GA, ch 153, § 75, 76; amendment 1984; Report April 20, 1992, effective 7/1/1992;11/9/2001, effective 2/15/2002; October 14, 2022, Order May 31, 2023, effective 7/1/2023; court order August 30, 2024, effective 10/30/2024.COMMENT:
Rule 2.27(3)(b). In Iowa, because of limited resources, not all courthouses screen visitors. It is therefore often possible to enter a courtroom without having gone through a body scanner. Yet persons entering a courtroom should recognize they have a diminished expectation of privacy as to items that would ordinarily be detected in a regular screening. This rule recognizes that the courts may need to act preemptively to protect the security and integrity of criminal proceedings, particularly in enforcing a prohibition on weapons in the courtroom or on the improper use of electronic devices. In exercising this authority, courts should be mindful of the potential for unfair prejudice when such searches are conducted in the presence of the jury.