Also known as: separate counts · count · counts
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A distinct criminal charge included within a single indictment or information. Each charge functions independently so that a conviction or acquittal on one does not automatically resolve the others.
A separate statement of a claim or defense in a pleading when the claim rests on a distinct transaction or occurrence. Separate counts organize multiple claims to promote clarity and permit later reference by paragraph number.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A distinct criminal charge included within a single indictment or information. Each charge functions independently so that a conviction or acquittal on one does not automatically resolve the others.
Prosecutors charged Samantha Stone with two separate counts of robbery after she took a watch from the living room and a necklace from the bedroom while the victim remained in the house. The court applied the presence rule to both counts because the items were located in rooms reasonably close to the victim. Stone was convicted on the first count but acquitted on the second after the jury found insufficient evidence of force for the bedroom taking.
Stephen Shaw faced three separate counts in an indictment pending in the Eastern District. He moved under Rule 21(b) to transfer only the count arising from events in the Western District. The court granted the motion as to that single count to serve the convenience of witnesses while retaining the remaining counts in the original district.
Solomon Silver was convicted on two separate counts of firearm possession. The sentencing court increased the sentence on the second count after finding that Silver had brandished the weapon. The Supreme Court later held that the brandishing fact had to be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt because it increased the statutory maximum for that count.
Stella Shapiro sued Sterling Manufacturing on three separate counts arising from the same defective product line. The jury awarded punitive damages on each count. The Supreme Court reviewed whether the aggregate punitive award across the separate counts was grossly excessive under due process standards.
Spencer Silver was indicted on four separate counts of tax evasion. He moved to sever the counts for trial because evidence admissible on one count would prejudice the jury on the others. The court considered whether the joinder of the counts created sufficient prejudice to require separate trials under the rules.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 8(a) permits an indictment to charge a defendant in separate counts with two or more offenses if the offenses are of the same or similar character, based on the same act or transaction, or connected as parts of a common scheme or plan.
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 14(a) authorizes the court to order separate trials of counts, sever the defendants' trials, or provide any other relief that justice requires when joinder appears to prejudice a defendant or the government.
An acquittal on one count does not automatically bar prosecution on a separate count unless the second prosecution would require relitigation of an ultimate fact necessarily decided in the defendant's favor under the doctrine of collateral estoppel embodied in the Double Jeopardy Clause.
A separate statement of a claim or defense in a pleading when the claim rests on a distinct transaction or occurrence. Separate counts organize multiple claims to promote clarity and permit later reference by paragraph number.
Sentinel Security filed a complaint containing two separate counts against Sapphire Technologies. Count I alleged breach of a 2022 maintenance agreement. Count II alleged breach of a 2023 software license. Each count was limited to a single transaction so the court could later refer to the numbered paragraphs without confusion.
Rule 10(b) requires that each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence be stated in a separate count when doing so would promote clarity. A later pleading may refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading.
…place before respondent became Commissioner. Although Dr. King had in fact been indicted (he was subsequently acquitted) on two counts of perjury, each of which carried a possible five-year sentence, respondent had nothing to do with procuring the indictment. Respondent made no effort to prove that he suffered actual…
…the interrogation. Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape. He was sentenced to 20 to 30 years' imprisonment on each count, the sentences to run concurrently. On appeal, the Supreme Court of Arizona held that Miranda's constitutional rights were not violated in obtaining the confession and affirmed the…
…Dissenting — Justice Stevens Today the Court restricts one judge-made rule and expands another. In my opinion it errs on both counts. Proper application of the doctrine of judicial restraint would avoid the premature adjudication of an important constitutional question. Proper respect for our precedents would avoid an…
…consequence of today's decision, the required determinations fall within judicial competence. 2 The inquiry into reliance counts
…employer. It was this appropriation of confidential information that underlay both the securities laws and mail and wire fraud counts. With respect to the § 10(b) charges, the courts below held that the deliberate breach of Winans’ duty of confidentiality and concealment of the scheme was a fraud and deceit on the…
Yes. Rule 21(b) expressly authorizes the court, upon the defendant's motion, to transfer the proceeding or one or more counts against that defendant to another district for the convenience of the parties, any victim, and the witnesses, and in the interest of justice.