This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When someone faces more than one criminal charge, or when several people are charged together, the court has to decide whether to handle those charges in one trial or in separate trials. This rule gives the court the power to combine, or "consolidate," separate cases into a single trial. This can only happen if the charges or the people involved could have legally been joined together in the first place under Rule 8.
The rule also lets the court split cases apart, which is called "severance." If combining the charges or defendants would be unfair to someone, the court can order separate trials instead. Either the defendant or the state can ask for this under Rule 14.
In short, this rule gives judges flexibility. They can put related charges or defendants together in one trial to save time and resources, or they can separate them if a joint trial would be unfair or confusing. The goal is to balance efficiency in the court system with a person's right to a fair trial.
