Rule 8 Joinder of Offenses and Defendants

Advisory Commission Comment.

Compulsory joinder of offenses against a single defendant is covered in section (a). This rule is designed to encourage the disposition in a single trial of multiple offenses arising from the same conduct and from the same criminal episode, and should therefore promote efficiency and economy. Where such joinder of offenses might give rise to an injustice, Rule 14(b)(2) allows the trial court to relax the rule.

The commission wishes to make clear that section (a) is meant to stop the practice by some prosecuting attorneys of "saving back" one or more charges arising from the same conduct or from the same criminal episode. Such other charges are barred from future prosecution if known to the appropriate prosecuting official at the time that the other prosecution is commenced, but deliberately not presented to a grand jury. "Appropriate prosecuting official" shall be so construed as to achieve the purpose of this rule, which is the prevention of a deliberate and willful "saving back"of known charges for future prosecution. The refusal of the grand jury to act upon such other charges would not be a violation of this joinder rule so as to bar future prosecution of such charges.

Permissive joinder of offenses, addressed in section (b), allows even unrelated offenses to be joined in the same indictment or presentment, when they are offenses of the same or similar character. These charges may be severed by the defendant as a matter of right under Rule 14(b), unless the offenses are part of a common scheme or plan and the evidence of one would be admissible upon the trial of the others, since a severance in such cases would accomplish nothing in the way of insulating the defendant from the evidence of all of the separate offenses.

Permissive joinder of defendants, addressed in section (c), is aimed at achieving improved judicial economy and efficiency. Severance of defendants is addressed in Rule 14(c).