Lyde v. State, 311 Ga. App. 512

Lyde was convicted in Glynn County of four molestation counts involving two victims, with a total sentence of 30 years.
Two counts involved the first victim (who was under 18 at trial), and the fourth count involved the second victim (who was 8–10 at the time).
The State sought to admit similar-transaction evidence from five additional victims; three testified they were molested by Lyde in childhood.
During trial, the court and counsel discussed whether Lyde's presence was required for a motion related to good-character evidence; the court allowed a strike of non-responsive testimony about good character, and Lyde was present for the ruling.
Lyde challenged (a) denial of his right to be present at a critical stage or ineffective assistance for waiving it, and (b) the indictment's tolling of statutes of limitation for victims under 16.
The trial court denied Lyde’s motion for new trial on these grounds; on appeal, the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the denial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Right to be present at a critical stage	Lyde argues counsel waived his presence, violating his right.	Lyde contends the waiver violated due process and his right to be present.	No reversible error; absence during the motions discussion was not a critical stage.
Indictment tolling for failure to plead tolling	Indictment fails to plead tolling under OCGA 17-3-2.1 for victims under 16.	Indictment sufficiently put Lyde on notice of tolling; Tompkins/Grizzard support tolling by alleging under-16 victims.	Indictment sufficiently invoked tolling; no error in tolling theory.

Huff v. State, 274 Ga. 110 (Ga. 2001) (defines 'critical stage' for right to be present under Georgia Constitution)
Peterson v. State, 284 Ga. 275 (Ga. 2008) (ineffective-assistance framework for right-to-be-present claims)
Snyder v. Massachusetts, 291 U.S. 97 (U.S. 1934) (presence only required if reasonably substantial to defense)
Kentucky v. Stincer, 482 U.S. 730 (U.S. 1987) (right to be present depends on fairness of the proceeding)
Pennie v. State, 271 Ga. 419 (Ga. 1999) (defines critical-stage scope and waiver considerations)
Parks v. State, 275 Ga. 320 (Ga. 2002) (absence in bench conferences may not violate right to be present)
Ferrell v. State, 261 Ga. 115 (Ga. 1991) (pretrial scheduling conferences not critical stages)
Barrett v. State, 275 Ga. 669 (Ga. 2002) (no violation when judge confers with counsel before jury instruction)
Tompkins v. State, 265 Ga. App. 760 (Ga. App. 2004) (tolling and age-based exceptions discussed; later part of case reversed on other grounds)
Grizzard v. State, 258 Ga. App. 124 (Ga. App. 2002) (tolling under OCGA 17-3-2.1 involves under-16 victims)
Moss v. State, 220 Ga. App. 150 (Ga. App. 1996) (statutory tolling considerations and indictment sufficiency)