The People of the State of New York v. Gunther J. Flinn

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals affirmed that the defendant validly waived his statutory right to be present at sidebar conferences, both implicitly by not attending after being told he was "welcome" and explicitly through his counsel's statement. The Court relied on prior decisions holding that counsel may waive the Antommarchi right and that a defendant's failure to attend after notice constitutes an implicit waiver. A dissent argued that the trial court failed to properly inform the defendant of the right, rendering any waiver ineffective, and would have reversed the judgment.