Justice must be served and the rule of law must be upheld as the primary goals of criminal trials. A fair trial is thought to be inherently based on the accused's right to personally appear before the court. The Latin term for "trial in absence" is the source of the English phrase "trial in absentia." Trial in Absence (TIA) is the practice of holding a trial while the defendant is willfully unable to attend and has relinquished his right to do so. It involves holding the criminal trial without the accused.
