WOODLAND, Calif. — Despite defense arguments that the prosecution’s request was untimely and would unfairly prejudice the accused, a Yolo County Superior Court judge Wednesday granted the prosecution’s motion to consolidate two pending criminal cases into a single trial.
The accused originally faced two separate domestic violence cases. One case included a single misdemeanor charge of inflicting injury on a spouse, while the other included three felony charges related to domestic violence and four misdemeanor charges, including DUI offenses.
Deputy Public Defender Katie De Anda opposed the motion, arguing that combining the cases would unfairly prejudice the accused because one case involves substantially more serious charges than the other. De Anda contended the prosecution was effectively “bootstrapping a weaker case to a stronger case” by asking the jury to consider both matters together.
De Anda also noted that the motion was filed late, arguing there “have been years in which this [case] could have been consolidated,” but the prosecution sought consolidation only recently.
Deputy District Attorney Gustavo Figueroa responded that he was unaware the motion had been filed improperly. He argued that because the alleged offenses occurred within a span of a few months, consolidating the cases would promote judicial efficiency by allowing them to be resolved in a single trial.
While consolidation may reduce the need for multiple proceedings, defense attorneys often argue that trying multiple cases together increases the risk that jurors will view the accused as having a greater propensity for criminal conduct, potentially influencing their verdict.
Figueroa also told the court the prosecution was not prepared to proceed to trial in either case because the investigating officer expected to testify is currently on maternity leave.
De Anda reiterated that consolidating the matters “would significantly prejudice my client,” maintaining that the disparity in the seriousness of the charges could improperly influence a jury’s evaluation of the evidence.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Daniel P. Maguire granted the prosecution’s motion to consolidate the cases and scheduled a six-day jury trial beginning Aug. 3.
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