Opinion ID: 2570398
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: 62 Whether Susan's motion to sever counts I and II and counts III, IV, and V for separate trials was properly denied.

Text: ś 63 In determining whether to grant a motion to sever, the trial court must balance the possibility of prejudice to the defendant against the judicial economy which results from a joint trial. Judicial economy weighs heavily in the balancing process. This balancing process is left to the sound discretion of the trial judge and absent an abuse of that discretion, we will not substitute our judgment for that of the trial court. The burden of showing prejudice rests on the defendant. In showing prejudice, it is not sufficient that the defendant prove some prejudice or that a better chance of acquittal exists if separate trials are held. Rather, the defendant must show the prejudice was so great as to prevent a fair trial. State v. Richards (1995), 274 Mont. 180, 188, 906 P.2d 222, 226-27 (citations omitted). ś 64 The District Court denied Susan's pretrial motion to sever the first two counts of the Information, which concerned Wesley's Benadryl overdose, from the last three counts, which concerned Mathew's death. Susan also cited the court's failure to grant the severance in support of her motion for a new trial. The court reaffirmed its holding in favor of joinder, holding that the counts related to Wesley's overdose and the counts related to Mathew's death were similar in nature and much of the proof, which includes many out-of-state professional witnesses, would apply to all counts. ś 65 Section 46-11-404(1), MCA, states in relevant part: Two or more offenses or different statements of the same offense may be charged in the same charging document in a separate count, or alternatively, if the offenses charged, whether felonies or misdemeanors or both, are of the same or similar character or are based on the same transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan. Section 46-13-211(1), MCA, states in relevant part: If it appears that a defendant ... is prejudiced by a joinder of charges ... in an ... information ... or by a joinder for trial together, the court may order separate trials ... or provide whatever relief justice requires. Susan contends that the joinder of counts I and II and counts III, IV, and V was improper pursuant to § 46-11-404(1), MCA, and prejudicial pursuant to § 46-13-211(1), MCA. Susan links this issue with her double jeopardy claim; however, we address the double jeopardy claim separately in our analysis of Issue 11. ś 66 Susan contends that the joinder of the two sets of charges was improper under § 46-11-404(1), MCA, because they involve separate incidents: Wesley's May 1992 overdose, which resulted in the alternate charges of attempted deliberate homicide and criminal endangerment, and Mathew's 1991 death, which resulted in the alternate charges of assault, felony murder and deliberate homicide. She argues that Wesley's overdose and Mathew's death were dissimilar in victims, dates, and methods of commission, and were not part of a common scheme or plan. In responding to this argument in District Court, the State argued that joinder was proper because in both instances Susan injured or killed her children in an attempt to draw attention to herself. ś 67 In Southern, ś 23, we held that joinder is proper in cases in which the charges are logically linked by motive and where overlapping proof must be offered. Here, the State, under its MSBP theory, alleged that Wesley's overdose and Mathew's death were linked by Susan's motive of drawing attention to herself by injuring or killing her children. The expert testimony on the subject of MSBP concerned all counts of the Information. Joinder of the charges resulting from Wesley's overdose and Mathew's death was proper pursuant to § 46-11-404(1), MCA, because the offenses were logically linked by the MSBP motive and the proof regarding all the charges overlapped. ś 68 Having decided that joinder was proper, we turn to the question whether joinder of the charges resulted in unfair prejudice to Susan pursuant to § 46-13-211(1), MCA. We have held that three types of prejudice may result from the joinder of charges: First, a jury may consider the criminal defendant facing multiple charges a bad man and accumulate evidence until it finds him guilty of something. Second, a jury may use proof of guilt on one count to convict the defendant of a second count even though the proof would be inadmissible at a separate trial on the second count. Third, prejudice may occur when the defendant wishes to testify on his or her own behalf on one charge but not another. State v. Martin (1996), 279 Mont. 185, 192, 926 P.2d 1380, 1385 (citations omitted). Susan contends that the first and second types of prejudice resulted from the joinder of the charges against her. The State contends that Susan failed to meet her burden of establishing any of the three types of prejudice. ś 69 Susan argues that the joinder of charges prejudiced her by portraying her as a bad person. She contends that the cumulative effect of the evidence presented during the three-week trial resulted in the jury wanting to find her guilty of something, even if they could not convict her of deliberate homicide. The State contends that Susan did not establish the first type of prejudice, relying on our holding in Martin that a bald assertion that the multiple charges and overlapping evidence `invited' the jury to convict him is insufficient to meet his burden of demonstrating the existence of this first type of prejudice. 279 Mont. at 192, 926 P.2d at 1385. That holding is not quite applicable here. Albeit not in great detail, Susan does more than baldly assert that the joinder of charges prejudiced her. She contends that during the long trial, the State attempted to portray her as a bad person and that the jury may have convicted her of something in order to protect Wesley and Chelsea from further harm. Although Susan's claim of prejudice of the first type may be plausible, this type of prejudice alone is not sufficient to warrant severance. See State v. Richards (1995), 274 Mont. 180, 189, 906 P.2d 222, 227. See also State v. Campbell (1980), 189 Mont. 107, 121-22, 615 P.2d 190, 198. ś 70 We turn to the second type of prejudice claimed by Susan, that the jury used proof of guilt on one count to convict her of another count, even though the proof would have been inadmissible at a separate trial. Susan's main contention with respect to this type of prejudice is that the evidence presented at her trial was not simple and direct, as in State v. Campbell (1980), 189 Mont. 107, 615 P.2d 190. In Campbell, we relied on the rationale that when the charges are few and the evidence straightforward, there is no reason to assume the jury was confused and could not keep the relevant evidence separate. Campbell, 189 Mont. at 122, 615 P.2d at 199. The State concedes that the evidence against Susan was complex and largely circumstantial, but argues that Susan failed to make the required showing under the second type of prejudice that proof on the first charge would have been inadmissible at a separate trial on the second charge. ś 71 A review of the record reveals that Susan failed to satisfy the threshold requirement for showing this type of prejudice-that the proof regarding Mathew's death would have been inadmissible at a separate trial on charges regarding Wesley's overdose. Without deciding whether such evidence would have been admissible at a separate trial, we therefore hold that Susan has failed to meet her burden of showing prejudice of the second type. ś 72 In attempting to sever the charges against her, it was Susan's burden to establish that prejudice resulted from the joinder. See Martin, 279 Mont. at 197, 926 P.2d at 1388. We conclude that Susan has failed to establish the existence of the first and the second types of prejudice resulting from joinder of the charges against her. ś 73 Moreover, joinder in this case promoted judicial economy, which weighs heavily in the District Court's balancing process in determining whether to grant a motion to sever. See Martin, 279 Mont. at 197, 926 P.2d at 1388. The District Court noted that many of the expert witnesses at the three-week trial came from out-of-state and their attendance and testimony at a separate trial would have required additional time and inconvenience for them as well as the expenditure of considerable additional resources by the State. ś 74 Joinder of the charges against Susan was proper and did not result in prejudice. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Susan's motion to sever counts I and II and counts III, IV, and V for separate trials.