When two or more criminal charges are consolidated for trial against a single defendant, does Section 954 of the California Criminal Code require a separate trial?

Section 954 permits two or more offenses of the same class or connected together in their commission to be consolidated for trial against a single defendant. "[B]ecause consolidation or joinder of charged offenses ordinarily promotes efficiency, that is the course of action preferred by law." (Alcala v. Superior Court (2008) 43 Cal.4th 1205, 1220.)¹³ Similarly, "[w]hen two or more defendants are jointly charged with any public offense, whether felony or misdemeanor, they must be tried jointly unless the court orders separate trials." ( 1098; see People v. Coffman and Marlow (2004) 34 Cal.4th 1, 40 ["[j]oint trials are favored because they 'promote [economy and] efficiency' and "'serve the interests of justice by avoiding the scandal and inequity of inconsistent verdicts"'"].)