California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Easter, F063263 (Cal. App. 2013):
As with bifurcation, the court's ruling on a severance motion is reviewed for abuse of discretion. (People v. Marshall (1997) 15 Cal.4th 1, 27-28.) "Whether a trial court abused its discretion in denying a motion to sever necessarily depends upon the particular circumstances of each case. [Citations.] The pertinent factors are these: (1) would the evidence of the crimes be cross-admissible in separate trials; (2) are some of the charges unusually likely to inflame the jury against the defendant; (3) has a weak case been joined with a strong case or another weak case so that the total evidence on the joined charges may alter the outcome of some or all of the charged offenses; and (4) is any one of the charges a death penalty offense, or does joinder of the charges convert the matter into a capital case. [Citation.] A determination that the evidence was cross-admissible ordinarily dispels any inference of prejudice. [Citations.]" (Ibid.)
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