Smith v. State

I respectfully dissent because Smith was entitled to separate trials on the two independent incidents of October 24, 1988, and December 27, 1988, even if they were similar.

They were not “crimes arising from the same conduct” so as to be governed by OCGA § 16-1-7, concerning which the court has discretion to order separate trials. Nor were they “ ‘a series of acts connected together or constituting parts of a single scheme or plan.’ ” Dingler v. State, 233 Ga. 462, 463 (211 SE2d 752) (1975). Thus, according to Dingler, defendant would have a right to severance if the charges had been joined in…