Criminal cases in district court begin at arraignment and typically end with either a trial or a plea.
Between the defendant’s first appearance and the case’s resolution, there are usually several “pretrial hearings” where discovery is exchanged, motions are filed, and plea deals are negotiated.
The general rule requires defendants to attend all of their hearings in person.
If you can’t attend a hearing, you or your lawyer needs to file a motion asking the court, in advance, to waive your presence.
The motion should be filed with a sworn affidavit explaining why you can’t attend a particular hearing.
If you have paperwork that supports your affidavit, it’s usually a good idea to include it with your motion.
During the early stages of a case, most judges will readily waive a defendant’s presence if there’s good reason for doing it.
Nevertheless, if your case is getting old and you’ve already missed several previous hearings, judges may become less lenient with your slack attendance.
Finally, I should emphasize that all courts do things differently. There are, in fact, some courts where defendants do not need to attend most preliminary hearings so long as they have good contact with their defense counsel.
So check with your attorney or the clerks office regarding pretrial hearings and your obligation to attend them.