ch 3 Texas Penal Code: Multiple Prosecutions and Sentencing
The source provides excerpts from the Texas Penal Code, Chapter 3, which governs the handling of multiple prosecutions arising from a single "criminal episode." This chapter defines a "criminal episode" as two or more offenses connected by the same transaction, a common scheme, or the repeated commission of similar offenses. Section 3.02 outlines the rules for consolidating and joining prosecutions, allowing a defendant to be tried for all related offenses in a single criminal action, though the state must provide sufficient notice. Furthermore, Section 3.03 dictates how sentences are to be pronounced for offenses stemming from the same criminal episode, generally requiring concurrent sentences unless the offenses are explicitly listed exceptions, such as those involving sexual assault or certain offenses against children, which may result in consecutive sentences. Finally, Section 3.04 grants the defendant the right to sever offenses consolidated for trial, although this right is limited for certain serious offenses unless joinder would result in unfair prejudice.
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