Brooks v. State

I believe that the trial court did not abuse its discretion at the time it was presented with the motion to sever, and Brooks failed to renew the motion, or to make any objection whatsoever, when the State’s closing argument linked him to crimes charged only against Johnson. I agree, however, that the trial court had a responsibility to intervene when the jury returned an illegal verdict. I therefore concur only as to Division 2 and the judgment.

This record shows that the trial court granted Brooks’s pre-trial motion to sever four counts against Johnson connected to the armed robbery and…