People v. Birdsell

70 P.2d 231, 21 Cal. App. 2d 682, 1937 Cal. App. LEXIS 340
California Court of Appeal·Decided July 9, 1937·No. Crim. 1559·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

PULLEN, P. J.

—Appellant was charged in two counts in an information of making and passing two fictitious checks in violation of section 476 of the Penal Code. In counts three, four and five of the same information appellant was charged with having suffered prior convictions of forgery.

Upon arraignment defendant entered pleas of guilty to counts one and two and admitted the three prior convictions of forgery, and also admitted having served a separate term in a state prison in California upon each of the separate felonies charged in counts three, four and five. Thereupon the defendant was committed to Folsom state prison, and was also found and pronounced to be an habitual criminal, and in accordance with section 644 of the Penal Code was sentenced for a term of not less than life without parole.

Thereafter a motion was presented to vacate and set aside the judgment, which motion was denied. From the order denying this motion an appeal was taken, and in People v. Birdsell, 6 Cal. App. (2d) 749 [45 Pac. (2d) 378], the order was affirmed. One of the points urged upon that appeal was that the appellant could not be adjudged an habitual criminal for the reason that the information upon which the judgment was founded did not allege that he had served terms in a state or federal prison under the prior convictions.

Thereafter appellant filed a petition in the superior court for a writ of error coram nobis. This petition was denied, from which order petitioner attempted to perfect an appeal to this court. This appeal was dismissed. (19 Cal. App. (2d) 107 [65 Pac. (2d) 965].)

Some six months thereafter appellant moved the trial court to vacate the judgment upon the ground that that portion of the judgment which found him to be an habitual *684 criminal was void, and that the same was predicated on admissions secured by, and made under conditions amounting to fraud, and secondly, that the portion of the judgment which found him to be an habitual criminal was void and the information upon which the judgment was based was void, in that it contained no allegation of the service of terms of imprisonment following the alleged prior convictions. This latter motion came on for hearing in the trial court and the motion was denied. It is from the order denying this motion that this appeal is taken.

It had repeatedly been held that while an appeal may be taken from an order after judgment affecting the substantial rights of appellant the party who has the right of appeal from a judgment is not permitted to move to set it aside and then appeal from an order denying the motion. (People v. Bowles, 135 Cal. App. 514 [27 Pac. (2d) 411]; People v. Brattingham, 91 Cal. App. 527 [267 Pac. 120]; People v. Howard, 7 Cal. App. (2d) 283 [46 Pac. (2d) 268]; People v. Swift, 140 Cal. App. 7 [34 Pac. (2d) 1041]; People v. Ramirez, 139 Cal. App. 380 [33 Pac. (2d) 848].)

It has also been held that while the law recognizes various motions after judgment, each of these remedies may be used but once and when the court has denied such a motion, the right of the same court to rule upon such motion has been exhausted. This is true, notwithstanding the fact that no appeal was taken from the ruling on the motion and the fact that the same relief is based upon other or additional grounds, does not alter the rule. (People v. Howard, 7 Cal. App. (2d) 283 [46 Pac. (2d) 268].)

In the case before us it will be recalled appellant moved to set aside the judgment, which motion was denied, and he appealed. (People v. Birdsell, supra.)

It would therefore appear, under the authority of the Howard case (supra) that the trial court having ruled upon that motion, exhausted its right to entertain a similar motion. To allow this appeal would be allowing two appeals from the same ruling, and as said in De la Montanya v. De la Montanya, 112 Cal. 101 [44 Pac. 345, 53 Am. St. Rep. 165, 32 L. R. A. 82], “in some cases would have the effect of extending the time for appeal”.

In People v. Van Buren, 134 Cal. App. 206 [25 Pac. (2d) 32], wherein somewhat similar facts were found, the court said:

*685 “It is apparent that the merits of appellant’s contention cannot be considered on the hearing of the instant motion. The point here at issue is whether, considering the facts hereinbefore set forth, appellant is entitled to have his contention considered by this court. Not only is it clear that on the original appeal from the judgment appellant might have presented for decision by this court the identical point which he now urges, but also (assuming, but not deciding, the propriety of his first motion to vacate the said judgment) that he might have done so on his appeal from the order by which his motion to vacate the said judgment was denied. In other words, appellant heretofore has had at least one opportunity, and possibly two separate opportunities, to have determined the very point which on his third appeal he now seeks to have decided. If such a course of procedure is in accordance with the law and the practice of the several interested courts, it is manifest that by presenting a single point on his appeal from the judgment against him, in the event that such judgment should be affirmed, the defendant thereafter by successive motions to vacate the judgment, each for a reason differing from either of the others, followed by an appeal from the order in each case by which his said motion was denied, would occupy the attention of the trial court and this tribunal indefinitely. In that regard the authorities of this state appear to be against the position assumed by appellant.”

As to the contention of appellant that the judgment finding he had served prior convictions was void, because the admission of such prior conviction were obtained from him through fraud, is not borne out in the evidence. Upon arraignment, appellant entered pleas of guilty on counts one and two and also admitted the prior convictions charged in count three. Upon proceeding with counts four and five, also charging prior convictions of felonies, the following took place:

“THE COURT: As to count four in the Information wherein you are charged with a conviction of a felony, to-wit, forgery, as herein set forth, do you admit or deny that conviction ?
“THE DEFENDANT: I wish to ask one or two questions of the court before we go any further in these counts. What does this pertain to and does it pertain to the sentences on count one and two, or does it pertain to something that has *686 been brought up later—well, I will plead not guilty to the later indictment and demand a jury trial.

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People v. Birdsell, 70 P.2d 231, 21 Cal. App. 2d 682, 1937 Cal. App. LEXIS 340 (Cal. Ct. App. 1937).

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