Category: Election Of Offenses

Election of offenses in a criminal trial refers to a prosecutor’s duty, in a case where there was evidence at trial of multiple separate incidents which might meet the elements of the charged offense, to elect, for each count, upon which specific incident the jury should deliberate to determine guilt of that count. The purpose

In a criminal trial, where evidence is presented of multiple separate acts, any of which could satisfy the elements of a particular charge, the State is required to clarify for the jury which particular acts the State is relying upon to prove the necessary elements of a charge. This is called election of offenses. Its