People v. Carner

301 P.2d 623, 144 Cal. App. 2d 687, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1781
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 27, 1956
DocketCrim. 2678
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 301 P.2d 623 (People v. Carner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Carner, 301 P.2d 623, 144 Cal. App. 2d 687, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1781 (Cal. Ct. App. 1956).

Opinion

SCHOTTKY, J.

Defendant was convicted of the crime of forcible rape (Pen. Code, § 261, subd. 3) and appeals from the judgment and order denying his motion for a new trial. Defendant does not dispute the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict of the jury but contends that reversible error was committed by the trial court in the improper admission of evidence and in an erroneous instruction to the jury.

It appears from the record that the defendant, Fred Garner, spent the late afternoon and evening of June 30, 1955, drinking at a Fairfield tavern. He left the inn at about 10 p.m. and drove to Vacaville where he stopped near a restaurant known as Corral Number 3.

Meanwhile, after a day of assisting her husband in a television repair business as well as caring for her baby and her household, 22-year-old Carol June Lingo, the prosecutrix, decided to take a stroll near her Vacaville home and see how her friend and neighbor, Irma Smith, was getting along on a new job. At about 10:45 p.m. Carol arrived at the Corral Number 3 where Irma had just started working. She stayed only briefly since her friend was extremely busy.

*689 Leaving the restaurant she paused for a moment to observe some construction work' being done near the restaurant. As she gazed at the excavation she was addressed by the defendant and a brief casual conversation ensued. She was surprised when defendant called her by her first name and stated that he knew her father well. They talked politely for a moment then she stated that it was time for her to be getting home. He offered to drive her home but she declined politely saying that she would rather walk. He continued his offer to drive her home and appeared to be hurt and offended when she refused. Not wishing to offend a man whom she thought to be a friend of her father she finally consented to riding to her home with him.

It soon became abundantly clear that defendant had no intention of taking her home. She protested repeatedly and even tried to get him to stop at the home of one of her friends as they passed by. The defendant paid no attention and continued driving out of town at a high rate of speed.

The prosecutrix testified that defendant stopped the ear on a lonely country road and after a violent struggle in which she resisted his advances to the limit of her strength, she was forced to submit to an act of sexual intercourse. Defendant later released the prosecutrix in the town of Vacaville and prosecutrix quickly reported to the police station the events that had transpired. Her testimony was corroborated by evidence of multiple scratches, abrasions and contusions upon her forehead, her right temple, her neck and upon her knees. Her husband testified that there were no observable bruises upon his wife when she left the house for her evening walk but that she was badly bruised when she returned home the next morning.

A medical examination of defendant following his arrest the next day revealed scratches, abrasions, and contusions upon his back, shoulders, legs, cheeks and lip. He also had a small abrasion on the inner edge of his foreskin. It was the opinion of the doctor that the injuries found upon the defendant’s body were inflicted within 24 hours of the time of the examination.

Upon his arrest about 1 p.m. on July 1, 1955, defendant denied having' seen the prosecutrix before and denied having had sexual intercourse with her, but upon the trial he admitted the act of sexual intercourse but maintained that the prosecutrix consented to the act and that no force or violence was used by him to accomplish the act.

*690 Defendant first contends that the court erred in overruling his objections to certain questions asked by the district attorney during the cross-examination of defendant. The record shows the following:

‘ ‘ Q. [By Mr. Peterson] : . . . I believe you also testified in response to some of Mr. Winters’ questions, that you decided to tell the truth after your attorney had talked to you, is that correct? A. That’s true.
“Q. In other words, you weren’t going to tell the truth until somebody told you to, is that right? A. Well, that’s the first time I’d been into any trouble. I didn’t tell them what happened until I got hold of an attorney. He told me to go ahead and tell the truth, and nothing but the truth.
“Q. This is the first time you’ve been in any trouble? A. That’s true.
“Q. This is the first time you’ve been arrested?
“Mr. Winters : I will object to that question as not being relevant to any issue here.
“The Court: Overruled.
“By Mr. Peterson : Q. Is this the first time you’ve been arrested ? A. No, it isn’t.
“Mr. Winters: I’m going to object, and cite the District Attorney for prejudicial misconduct. The only question permitted is, have you ever been convicted of a felony.
“The Court: I’ve overruled it.
“Mr. Winters: I’d like to take an exception, and cite Your Honor for prejudicial misconduct.
“The Court: The Court is trying to show both of you courteous treatment, and give your client a fair trial.
“Mr. Winters : I understand that, but when your ruling permits a prejudicial question to be asked of a witness concerning an offense not amounting to a felony, I feel that it’s highly prejudicial to my client, both on your part——•
“The Court: You may have your exception, and your objection is again overruled.
“Q. Have you ever been arrested before? A. I have.”

On redirect examination, defendant’s counsel further developed defendant’s testimony and therein he stated in response to his counsel’s inquiry that said arrest was for drunk driving.

Defendant is correct in his contention that the trial court erred in permitting the prosecution to ask defendant on cross-examination whether or not he had ever been arrested. *691 This question was presented in People v. Hamblin, 68 Cal. 101 [8 P. 687], where, as in the present case, there was no attempt made to show that the defendant had been convicted of a felony and the question merely sought to establish that defendant had been arrested. That court quoted the following language from People v. Elster, 3 W.C.R. 37: “The only possible object of asking the questions was to impeach the credibility of the witness. But the testimony was not admissible for that purpose. The mere fact that the witness had been arrested does not prove nor tend to prove that he had been convicted of any offense; and until there is proof of conviction the witness was protected by the legal presumption of innocence.

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263 Cal. App. 2d 719 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
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Bluebook (online)
301 P.2d 623, 144 Cal. App. 2d 687, 1956 Cal. App. LEXIS 1781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-carner-calctapp-1956.