Earle

Defendant Cameron Lee Earle was charged in two separate cases with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, and sexual assault, a felony. The charges arose from entirely distinct and dissimilar incidents with no apparent historical connection to one another. After first ordering the charges consolidated, the trial court denied a motion by defendant to sever them for trial.

At trial defendant tacitly conceded the indecent exposure charge, proof of which was strong. The underlying conduct occurred in broad daylight; the perpetrator’s license number, which the victim recorded, belonged to a car then owned by defendant; and the victim positively identified defendant from a properly conducted photographic lineup.

The assault case was considerably weaker. The underlying incident occurred at night in a parked car illuminated only by overhead parking lot lights. The victim’s description of her assailant and his vehicle did not match defendant or his vehicle. She characterized her assailant as looking Mexican, with light brown skin resembling her own; but defendant presents a distinctly pallid, European appearance in photographic exhibits, was described by a police booking officer as…

I respectfully dissent. The majority spends a great deal of time analyzing evidence presented at trial that might have led a fact finder to entertain a reasonable doubt as to whether defendant was the perpetrator of the assault. Yet the existence of evidence that could have supported a reasonable doubt is of minimal relevance to the issues actually before us in this case. Severance is not required merely because the evidence is strong as to one count and could support a reasonable doubt as to the other. Instead, the determination of whether to sever counts is committed to the discretion of the trial court, which must balance a number of relevant factors. Unlike my colleagues, I would find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s denial of defendant’s severance motion. I would also conclude that defendant was not denied due process by the joint trial of the indecent exposure and assault offenses. As there were no other prejudicial errors, I would affirm the judgment.

I. Factual Background

On September 30, 2004, about 4:00 p.m., Gina 1 was walking into the mobilehome park where she lived. She saw a white Ford Probe next to her that was moving very slowly. The man driving the…

Defendant Cameron Lee Earle was charged in two separate cases with indecent exposure, a misdemeanor, and sexual assault, a felony. The charges arose from entirely distinct and dissimilar incidents with no apparent historical connection to one another. After first ordering the charges consolidated, the trial court denied a motion by defendant to sever them for trial.

At trial defendant tacitly conceded the indecent exposure charge, proof of which was strong. The underlying conduct occurred in broad daylight; the perpetrator's license number, which the victim recorded, belonged to a car then owned by defendant; and the victim positively identified defendant from a properly conducted photographic lineup.

The assault case was considerably weaker. The underlying incident occurred at night in a parked car illuminated only by overhead parking lot lights. The victim's description of her assailant and his vehicle did not match defendant or his vehicle. She characterized her assailant as looking Mexican, with light brown skin resembling her own; but defendant presents a distinctly pallid, European appearance in photographic exhibits, was described by a police booking…