091882P.pdf   03/29/2010  United States  v.  Terry Ward
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  09-1882
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock   
   [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Benton, Circuit Judge, and Viken,
   District Judge]
   Criminal case - criminal law. District court abused its discretion by
   removing defendant from the courtroom before the voir dire and by
   conducting the entire trial without him present as his conduct - refusing to
   obey the judge's command to stop talking to his attorney during
   proceedings - did not rise to the level of disruptive behavior required to
   deprive him of his constitutional right to be present; the court also erred
   in never conversing directly with defendant after his removal, in using his
   attorney as an intermediary and by accepting counsel's reports and
   conclusions; government failed to establish that the error in excluding
   defendant was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.