State v. Bruning

Defendant appeals her convictions for multiple crimes arising out of her care-giving relationship with an elderly woman. She argues, among other things, that the trial court erred in denying her motion to sever the charges for trial and in denying her the right to waive a jury trial as to some of the charges. We reverse and remand for a new trial.

Defendant was charged by a multiple-count indictment that combined counts of criminal mistreatment, theft, and unauthorized use of a vehicle (counts 1-16) with counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm (counts 17-26). Before trial, she moved…