Under California Penal Code Section 977, whether you personally have to show up to court depends on the level of charge. If you’re charged only with a misdemeanor, your attorney can generally appear for you at every stage except trial. If you’re charged with a felony, you must be physically present at five specific stages of the case, and you can waive your presence at other hearings only with the court’s consent. The statute was updated in 2024 to formally build in video appearances for many proceedings.
Misdemeanor Cases and Attorney-Only Appearances
For most misdemeanor charges, your lawyer can appear on your behalf without you setting foot in the courtroom. This applies by default. There’s no special motion, no written request, and no hearing to authorize it — you simply authorize your attorney to handle the date.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977
You can also choose to appear remotely by video for your initial appearance, arraignment, plea, and other pretrial proceedings, provided you consent. The court can’t force a video appearance on you.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977
Two categories of misdemeanor break the pattern.
Domestic Violence Misdemeanors
If your misdemeanor involves domestic violence as defined in Family Code Section 6211, or a violation of a protective order under Penal Code 273.6, you must personally appear at arraignment and sentencing. The court can also order you to appear at any point during the case so a judge can explain protective order conditions to you directly.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 This captures charges like domestic battery, corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant, and criminal threats where the alleged victim is a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, dating partner, co-parent, or close family member.
DUI Misdemeanors
For misdemeanor DUI cases, your presence isn’t automatically required, but the judge can order it for arraignment, plea, or sentencing. The statute names DUI under Vehicle Code 23152, DUI causing injury under 23153, wet reckless under 23103 as specified in 23103.5, and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated under Penal Code 191.5(b).2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 977 Many judges use this discretion in practice, so don’t assume your lawyer can handle a DUI case entirely without you.
Felony Cases and Required Physical Presence
Felony defendants face a much stricter rule. You have to be physically in the courtroom for five stages:
- Arraignment, when the charges are formally read and you enter your initial plea.
- Plea, when you enter or change a guilty, not guilty, or no contest plea.
- Preliminary hearing, when the judge decides whether the evidence is enough to hold you for trial.
- Any portion of trial where testimony or other evidence is presented to the judge or jury.
- Sentencing, when the judge imposes your punishment.
Remote video does not satisfy the presence requirement at these five stages.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 Penal Code 1043 reinforces this at trial, though it also provides that if you voluntarily leave after a non-capital trial begins, the trial can continue through verdict without you.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 1043
For all other felony proceedings, you must at least be physically or remotely present unless you waive that right with the court’s permission and your attorney’s approval. The court also retains the power to order your physical appearance at any hearing, including at a crime victim’s request under Article I, Section 28 of the California Constitution.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977
Appearing by Video
The 2024 amendments folded remote video into the statute directly. If you waive your right to be physically present, many proceedings can now be handled by video, and you can withdraw the waiver at any time and insist on appearing in person.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 977 This version of the statute is operative through January 1, 2027.
Some proceedings can’t be handled remotely no matter what. Neither misdemeanor nor felony defendants can appear by video for a jury trial or a court trial. Felony defendants also can’t appear remotely at sentencing, aside from a narrow exception for post-conviction relief proceedings.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 977
When you do appear remotely, your attorney doesn’t need to be in the same physical location as you, provided the video technology allows private, confidential communication before and during the hearing. That communication carries the same attorney-client privilege as an in-person conversation. A felony defendant who wants to skip noncritical portions of trial where no testimony is being taken can ask the court separately, either orally in open court or by written request, and the judge may grant it at their discretion.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code PEN 977
How to Waive Your Presence
For misdemeanors, the default is that your attorney can appear for you, so there’s no formal waiver step for most hearings. You just authorize your lawyer to handle the date.
For felony proceedings beyond the five required-presence stages, the waiver can happen two ways. You can file a written waiver with the court, or the waiver can be entered on the record in court, either by you personally or by your attorney speaking on your behalf, as long as the judge consents. A waiver does not have to be in writing.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977
Whichever route you take, the record has to reflect three things: that you were told about your right to be physically or remotely present, that you’re waiving it, and that you understand notice to your attorney of a future required court date counts as notice to you.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 977 That last point matters. If your lawyer is told you need to be in court on a specific date, the court treats you as told. Missing the date because the message didn’t reach you won’t excuse the absence.
What Happens If You Fail to Appear
Skipping a hearing you were required to attend is a much bigger problem than waiving one you were allowed to skip. A judge will almost certainly issue a bench warrant for your arrest, and that’s just the start.
Penal Code 1320 makes it a separate crime to willfully fail to appear after being released on your own recognizance. If your underlying charge is a misdemeanor, the failure to appear is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail and up to a $1,000 fine. If your underlying charge is a felony, the failure to appear is itself a felony, punishable by up to $5,000, state prison, or both. The statute presumes that a defendant who doesn’t appear within 14 days of the scheduled date intended to evade the court process, which makes it harder to argue the absence was accidental.4California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1320
If you were released on bail rather than on your own recognizance, Penal Code 1320.5 imposes similar penalties, and your bail can be forfeited. If you aren’t sure whether your presence is required at a given hearing, confirm with your attorney before skipping. Showing up unnecessarily costs you a morning. Missing a required appearance costs you a new criminal charge on top of the one you already face.
When Showing Up Is Smart Even If You Don’t Have To
Having the legal right to skip a hearing and having a good reason to skip it aren’t the same question. In misdemeanor cases, letting your attorney appear alone is routine, and judges don’t read anything into it on a status conference or motion date.
Felony cases deserve more thought. Even when a waiver is available for a non-critical proceeding, showing up signals to the judge that you take the case seriously. Prosecutors sometimes negotiate differently when the defendant is at counsel table rather than absent. Sentencing, though technically already a required-presence stage, is the clearest case where physical presence carries weight beyond the legal requirement.
Talk to your attorney before deciding. A good lawyer knows the judge’s preferences, the dynamics of your case, and whether your presence at a particular hearing adds anything to your defense or costs you nothing to skip.