Ruiz

Defendant Jason Robert Ruiz was convicted of two counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery and was sentenced to an 80-year-to-life term in prison. He appeals, claiming (1) his absence from the trial requires reversal; (2) an aggregate term approach should have been used to calculate his minimum sentence under the three strikes law or, alternatively, if an aggregate term approach is not used in the three strikes context, then the statute is unconstitutionally vague; and (3) the 80-year-to-life prison term constitutes cruel and/or unusual punishment. In the published portion of this opinion, we discuss the timing and circumstances under which a court may allow a criminal defendant to waive his personal presence during trial. We affirm.

Facts

On the evening of January 7, 1999, claiming to have a gun, defendant robbed a cashier at the Food 4 Less in Merced. He took over $200 in cash and some food stamps. The morning of January 9, 1999, defendant presented a note to a manager at MacFrugal’s in Merced stating he had a gun; he stole about $90. The afternoon of that same day, defendant, again claiming to have a gun, demanded money from a clerk at a Rite Aid store in…