A CONFERENCE IN CHAMBERS ABOUT WHETHER DEFENDANT WAS FIRED BECAUSE OF THE SEX ABUSE ALLEGATIONS WHICH WERE THE SUBJECT OF THE TRIAL WAS DEEMED TO BE A MATERIAL STAGE OF THE TRIAL AT WHICH DEFENDANT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENT BECAUSE DEFENDANT HAD FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF THE FACTS; THE COURT RULED EVIDENCE OF THE FIRING COULD BE PRESENTED; DEFENSE COUNSEL’S WAIVER OF DEFENDANT’S PRESENCE WAS DEEMED INSUFFICIENT; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing defendant’s sex-offense convictions and ordering a new trial, determined it was error to fail to include the defendant in sidebar and chambers conferences and defense counsel’s waiver of defendant’s presence was insufficient:

… County Court did not at any point advise defendant of his right to be present during sidebar conferences. * * * … [A]fter jury selection concluded but before the trial began, a conference was held with the attorneys in chambers wherein defendant plainly was not present. During this conference, County Court heard arguments from both defense counsel and the prosecutor regarding the admissibility of certain evidence, including testimony that defendant was fired from his job at the YMCA following the [sexual abuse] incident in question. There was discussion by the attorneys and the court as to the reason for defendant’s termination and whether it was based upon the charged conduct in this case. The court ruled that evidence of defendant’s firing would be allowed. It was only after it had issued its ruling that the court acknowledged that defendant was not present, whereupon defense counsel stated, “I can waive his appearance.”

Noting that the conference was conducted for the purpose of determining the admissibility of proposed testimony, and further recognizing that defendant presumably had personal knowledge of the circumstances surrounding his firing such that he would have been able to meaningfully participate in the discussion … , we find that this conference constituted a material stage of the trial at which defendant had the right to be present. In that regard, the transcript of the conference makes apparent that County Court’s ultimate ruling on this issue turned on the precise reason for defendant’s termination, and defendant was deprived of the opportunity to assist his counsel in advocating against the admission of the subject testimony. Therefore, it cannot be said “that defendant’s presence would have been useless, or the benefit but a shadow” … . People v Benton, 2025 NY Slip Op 06559, Third Dept 11-26-25

Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into when the failure to include defendant in a sidebar or chambers conference will be deemed reversible error.