Presence, Default

(a) Presence. (1) Child. The child has the right to be present at all delinquency and continued foster care hearings. If the child is of sufficient age and competence, a child has the right to be present at all child in need of protection proceedings. The court may allow the child to be present at other hearings. The child waives the right to be present if the child voluntarily and without justification is absent after the hearing has commenced or if the child disrupts the proceedings. (2) Counsel. If the child has counsel, counsel must be present at all hearings. Counsel for the state must be present or available for all hearings unless excused by the court. (3) Parent, Guardian or Custodian. Except in a continued foster care matter under N.D.C.C. § 27-20.3-16, the parent, guardian or custodian of a child must be present at all hearings unless excused by the court. If such person fails to attend a hearing with the child without excuse, the court may order a law enforcement officer to take the person into custody and bring the person before the court. The court may hold the person in contempt. The court may proceed if it is in the best interests of the child to do so even if the parent, guardian, or custodian fails to appear. (b) Default. (1) If after being properly served with a summons or notice a parent, guardian or custodian fails to appear at a hearing, the court may receive evidence in support of the petition or reschedule the hearing. (2) If the petition is proved by the applicable burden of proof, the court may enter an order granting the relief sought in the petition. (c) Presence by Reliable Electronic Means. Presence permitted by contemporaneous audio or audiovisual transmission by reliable electronic means is presence for the purposes of this rule.