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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 204 _ Filed 04/16/21 Page 167 of 239
in a bankruptcy proceeding). Similarly, “[c]ourts have repeatedly recognized the appropriateness
of trying perjury or obstruction charges together with the underlying crimes to which the perjury
relates, where proof of the alleged perjury requires proof of knowledge of the underlying crime.”
United States v. Butler, No. 04 Cr. 340, 2004 WL 2274751, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 7, 2004) (Lynch,
J.) (permitting joinder of defendants under Rule 8(b)).
In the event that properly joined counts “appear[] to prejudice a defendant or the
government,” Rule 14(a) permits a court to “order separate trials of counts . . . or provide any other
relief that justice requires.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 14(a). “[I]n order to prevail” on a Rule 14 motion,
“the defendant must show not simply some prejudice but substantial prejudice.” United States v.
Sampson, 385 F.3d 183, 190 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Werner, 620 F.2d at 928). The defendant
carries this “heavy burden” because Rule 8(a) already strikes a “balance” between “considerations
of economy and speed” and “possible unfairness” to the defendant. United States v. Amato, 15
F.3d 230, 237 (2d Cir. 1994). Accordingly, “the principles that guide the district court’s
consideration of a motion for severance usually counsel denial,” Pizarro, 2018 WL 1737236, at
*5 (alteration, internal quotation marks, and citation omitted), and severance should be granted
“only if there is a serious risk that a joint trial would compromise a specific trial right of one of the
defendants, or prevent the jury from making a reliable judgment about guilt or innocence,” Zafiro
v. United States, 506 U.S. 534, 539 (1993).°* But “Rule 14 does not require severance even if
prejudice is shown; rather, it leaves the tailoring of the relief to be granted, if any, to the district
court’s sound discretion.” /d. at 538-39. “[L]ess drastic measures . . . such as limiting instructions,
*? While Zafiro involved a motion to sever defendants, rather than counts, the Supreme Court’s
construction of Rule 14(a) applies in either case. See Page, 657 F.3d at 129 (relying on Zafiro);
United States v. Gracesqui, No. 10 Cr. 74 (PKC), 2015 WL 5231168, at *4 n.2 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8,
2015), aff'd, 730 F. App’x 25 (2d Cir. 2018) (citing Page for the proposition that Zafiro applies
both to motions to sever counts and motions to sever defendants).
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00003101.jpg |
| File Size | 799.5 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.7% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,445 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 16:30:47.546288 |