People v. Brown

262 Cal. App. 2d 378, 68 Cal. Rptr. 657, 1968 Cal. App. LEXIS 2322
California Court of Appeal·Decided May 22, 1968·No. Crim. 12314·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

*380 FILES, P. J.

A jury found defendant guilty of incest (Pen. Code, § 285) and lie has appealed from the judgment.

The People’s evidence consists solely of the testimony of the victim, defendant’s 17-year-old daughter Buthie, and of defendant’s wife, who is Buthie’s stepmother. The defense consists only of the testimony of defendant.

Buthie’s testimony includes the following: On Sunday night, September 5, 1965, she was at home with defendant and her two stepsisters, aged eight and five. Defendant’s wife was in a hospital with her child born September 4, 1965. About midnight or 1 a.m. defendant asked, ! ‘ 1 Are you going to give me some tonight?’ ” Buthie replied that she couldn’t “because the doctor had told me that I couldn’t have any more sexual relations because I had a, a Tubbal [sic] disease, something like that.” Defendant pulled her into the bedroom and started taking off her clothes. Then her 15-year-old cousin Ivory came to the door of the house. Defendant went to the door and, after Ivory left, defendant returned to the bedroom. He undressed himself and started to undress Buthie. She started to cry. The 8-year-old stepsister entered the room, but defendant hit her with a broom handle and made her go back to bed. Then he returned to the bed and after further protests from Buthie he completed the act of intercourse. She cried and he drew his fist back and told her if she did not shut up he would hit her.

On Monday, September 6, Buthie’s stepmother returned from the hospital and, on the following Friday, Buthie told her what had happened. About September 18 or 19 Buthie went to the police. Buthie testified on direct examination that her father had been having sexual relations with her for seven or eight years. She recalled an occasion in July 1965 when she was crying and he pulled a knife and told her if she did not shut up he would use it.

On cross-examination Buthie testified she had never before complained to anyone except her father about his acts. On redirect she said she had not complained ‘1 Because he told me if I did he would kill me. ’ ’

The stepmother testified that Buthie had told her about this offense after her return from the hospital, and she had called the police. She said she could not remember the date when Buthie made the complaint but “I think my baby was about three weeks old. ’ ’

Defendant, testifying on his own behalf, denied having had intercourse with Buthie at any time. He recalled that, on the *381 night of September 5, Ivory had come to the door, stayed briefly, and left. Defendant described three recent incidents which had caused Ruthie to be angry with him. In August 1965 she had wanted to marry a sailor, but defendant had forbidden it. On October 4 (the day before defendant was arrested) she had taken a $44 check out of the mailbox, cashed and spent it, and he had reprimanded her. In June 1965 defendant had compelled her to quit a job as a waitress.

Those three incidents had been called to Ruthie’s attention in defendant’s cross-examination of her. She had admitted that the events had occurred, but denied that she had been angry towards her father.

The case presented a square issue of credibility. If the trial was fairly conducted, the verdict of the jury is conclusive on the factual issue. (People v. Daugherty, 40 Cal.2d 876, 885 [256 P.2d 911].) Several claims of error will be discussed separately.

Defendant contends that it was error to receive the testimony of Ruthie that he had committed incest repeatedly over a period of seven or eight years, citing People v. Stanley, 67 Cal.2d 812 [63 Cal.Rptr. 825, 433 P.2d 913]. That point is not available to defendant because he made no objection to this evidence in the trial court. Ordinarily a defendant may not silently allow evidence to be received in the trial court and then raise the point for the first time on appeal to obtain a new trial.

In this trial, when Ruthie claimed that her father had' been attacking her for years without anyone else finding out about it, the defense found an additional basis for arguing that her story was unworthy of belief. The defense attorney then was in a position to argue that it was improbable that defendant could have carried on in this way for so long without being discovered and without Ruthie’s ever having mentioned it to anyone. Defendant’s choice of tactics, in allowing the evidence to be received, cannot be grounds now for demanding a new trial.

Defendant contends that in any event the court erred in giving the following instruction requested by the People:

"Although evidence was offered for the purpose of showing that on more than one occasion the defendant indulged in acts of sexual intercourse with his daughter Ruthie Mae Brown, you are not permitted to deliver a'verdict of guilt in this "case unless you find that the defendant committed the specific offense which, the prosecution alleges, was committed on or about September 5, 1965.
*382 “Evidence of any other incestuous conduct by the defendant may be considered by you only as, and for the sole purpose of, tending to show, if it does, the incestuous disposition of the defendant toward the said daughter and for whatever bearing it may have on the question of the intent of the defendant at the time of the alleged commission of the offense for which he is here on trial. ’ 1

The tenor of the instruction, read as a whole, was to limit the effect of the evidence of the other crimes, and particularly to warn the jury not to convict unless it found defendant had committed the one offense which had been charged. To this extent the instruction benefited defendant. The second part of the second sentence referring to the “question of the intent” was harmless because there was no such question in the case. There remains to be considered the effect of the portion which tells the jury it may consider the evidence “only as . . . tending to show, if it does, the incestuous disposition of the defendant. ’ ’

In People v. Stanley, 67 Cal.2d 812 [63 Cal.Rptr. 825, 433 P.2d 913], a conviction for sex offenses was reversed upon the ground that the trial court had permitted the victim to testify that the defendant had committed similar acts against him in the past. The opinion pointed out that, where the sole issue was credibility, the testimony of the victim as to other offenses added nothing to the strength of his testimony; and thus the prejudicial effect outweighed its legitimate probative value. The Stanley decision does not hold that such evidence lacks relevance. The court said (at p. 816) : “In cases involving sex crimes, it has been held that evidence of other not too remote sex offenses with the prosecuting witness is admissible to show a lewd disposition or the intent of defendant towards the prosecuting witness. ’ ’

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People v. Brown, 262 Cal. App. 2d 378, 68 Cal. Rptr. 657, 1968 Cal. App. LEXIS 2322 (Cal. Ct. App. 1968).

262 Cal. App. 2d 378 (People v. Brown) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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