Also known as: joinder of charge · joinder · charge joinder
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A procedural device in criminal cases that permits multiple offenses to be tried against the same defendant in one proceeding when the charges share a sufficient factual or evidentiary connection. The device promotes efficiency by avoiding duplicative trials and repeated presentation of the same witnesses and evidence. Courts retain discretion to sever charges if joinder would cause prejudice to the defendant or the government.
Prosecutor files an indictment charging defendant Marcus Lee with three burglaries occurring over two nights at the same apartment complex. The offenses share a common modus operandi and the same witnesses. The court permits joinder of the charges in a single trial.
Federal agents arrest defendant Alicia Rivera after finding narcotics and an unregistered firearm during the same search of her vehicle. The prosecutor joins the drug-trafficking count with the firearm count in one indictment. The court denies severance because the facts are inextricably intertwined.
Defendant Tyrone Banks is charged with robbing four branches of the same bank over a six-week period. The government joins all four robbery counts because each involves the same getaway car and surveillance footage. The trial proceeds on the joined charges.
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After a bar fight, defendant Samuel Ortiz faces charges of aggravated assault and possession of a deadly weapon. Both offenses arise from the same altercation and involve the same eyewitnesses. The court grants the state's motion for joinder of the charges.
Defendant Lena Morales is indicted on one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and three substantive distribution counts. The government joins the charges because the overt acts alleged in the conspiracy count are the same transactions charged substantively. The jury hears all counts in a single proceeding.
Defendant Robert Kline is charged with two sexual assaults alleged to have occurred on different dates but involving similar victims. The defense moves to sever, arguing unfair prejudice. The court denies the motion after finding the probative value of the joined evidence outweighs any risk of confusion.
A court may sever charges if joinder appears to prejudice a defendant or the government. The decision rests on whether the risk of unfair transference of guilt or confusion outweighs the efficiency gains of a joint trial.
Supporting sources
Defects in the charging instrument including improper joinder must be raised by pretrial motion. Failure to do so may waive the objection.
Supporting sources
Joinder of charges is proper only when the offenses share a sufficient factual or evidentiary connection as stated in the definition.
…to cross-examine the witnesses against him is a denial of the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of due process of law.” [^maj-6]: Joinder of defendants is governed by Rules 8 (b) and 14 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. “The rules are designed to promote economy and efficiency and to avoid a multiplicity of trials,…