Dingler v. State

Decision Date08 January 1975
Docket NumberNo. 29365,29365
Citation211 S.E.2d 752,233 Ga. 462
PartiesTommy DINGLER, Sr. v. The STATE.
CourtGeorgia Supreme Court

Gammon & Anderson, Joseph N. Anderson, Cedartown, for appellant.

John T. Perren, Dist. Atty., Dallas, for appellee.

Syllabus Opinion by the Court

HALL, Justice.

The Court of Appeals has certified the following question: 'When two or more crimes are charged in separate counts in a single indictment, though committed at different times and places and involving transactions with different persons, and are of the same general nature or species, and the mode of trial is the same, is it mandatory that the trial judge, upon motion of defendant, order separate trials for each of the crimes charged?'

The problem is well-stated in ABA Standards Relating to the Administration of Criminal Justice, p. 285 (1974): 'The interests which so often come into conflict in this area are those which commonly clash in the field of criminal procedure . . . the expeditious handling of criminal cases without excessive demands on prosecutorial and judicial resources and the protection of defendants from the risk of prejudicial and unfair treatment. The traditional rationale for joinder of offenses and of defendants is that of conserving the time lost in duplicating the efforts of the prosecuting attorney, and possibly his witnesses, and of judges and court officials. Severance, on the other hand is typically sought on the ground that a unified disposition of several charges or several defendants would put those proceeded against at an unfair disadvantage, due to confusion of law and evidence by the trier of the fact and the 'smear' effect such confusion can produce.'

The Criminal Code of Georgia has one provision on this subject: 'If the several crimes arising from the same conduct are known to the proper prosecuting officer at the time of commencing the prosecution and are within the jurisdiction of a single court, they must be prosecuted in a single prosecution except . . . the court in the interest of justice may order that one or more of such charges be tried separately.' Code Ann. § 26-506(b) and (c). Necessarily, then, severance in this particular kind of circumstance lies within the sound discretion of the trial judge since the facts in each case are likely to be unique.

The ABA Standards on Joinder of Offenses provides: 'Two or more offenses may be joined in one charge, with each offense stated in a separate count, when the offenses, whether felonies or misdemeanors or both: (a) are of the same or similar character, even if not part of a single scheme or plan; or (b) are based on the same conduct or on a series of acts connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan.' ABA Standards, supra, p....

To continue reading

Request your trial
164 cases
  • Seals v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 18 Junio 2021
    ...section, the court in the interest of justice may order that one or more of such charges be tried separately."); Dingler v. State , 233 Ga. 462, 463-464, 211 S.E.2d 752 (1975) (adopting ABA's standard on severance of charges).9 Only two cases from our Court have explicitly addressed the use......
  • Tucker v. Tucker
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • 4 Febrero 2022
    ...that they are of the same or similar character, the defendant shall have a right to a severance of the offenses." Dingler v. State , 233 Ga. 462, 463, 211 S.E.2d 752 (1975) (citation and punctuation omitted). If severance had been mandatory in this case, the motion to sever would not have b......
  • Harris v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 22 Junio 2022
    ...the trier of the fact[s] and the "smear" effect such confusion can produce.’ " Id. at 891, 778 S.E.2d 196 (quoting Dingler v. State , 233 Ga. 462, 463, 211 S.E.2d 752 (1975) ). Generally, "where evidence of one charge would be admissible in the trial of another, a trial court does not abuse......
  • Bright v. State
    • United States
    • Georgia Supreme Court
    • 17 Marzo 1995
    ...of the crimes without permitting evidence of the other. Stewart v. State, 239 Ga. 588, 589, 238 S.E.2d 540 (1977); Dingler v. State, 233 Ga. 462, 463, 211 S.E.2d 752 (1975). It is undisputed that Bright used crack cocaine before and after the murders, that he spent the day of the murders en......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT