People v. Chase

117 Cal. App. 777
CourtAppellate Division of the Superior Court of California
DecidedJune 25, 1931
DocketCr. A. No. 598
StatusPublished

This text of 117 Cal. App. 777 (People v. Chase) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Chase, 117 Cal. App. 777 (Cal. Ct. App. 1931).

Opinion

SHAW, J.

The charge on which appellants were convicted is that in the city of Long Beach, they “wilfully and unlawfully, by invitation and/or device, did prevail upon persons to visit a place kept for the purpose of gambling, to-wit, the ‘Johanna Smith’, a ship anchored off the coast of the city of Long Beach”. This is alleged [778]*778to be a violation of section 318 of the Penal Code, which reads in part as follows: “Whoever, through invitation or device, prevails upon any person to visit any room, building or other places kept for the purpose of gambling or prostitution, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”

Appellants contend that a ship does not come within the provisions of this section of the code, relying on the rule of ejusdem generis to cut down the meaning of the word “places” so as to exclude ships from its purview. Many cases are cited in which general terms have been limited by reference to preceding particular terms, but we do not deem it necessary to review them, because we can discern no genus of places broad enough to include all rooms, and buildings that might not also include ships. The word “building” in its primary sense means merely, “that which is built” (Webster’s Dictionary), but usually indicates some sort of edifice or structure located on or affixed to land. It has been held to include a railroad car, which, while located on land, is certainly not affixed to it. (Hardin v. State, 92 Neb. 298 [138 N. W. 146]; State v. Lintner, 19 S. D. 447 [104 N. W. 205].) The word “room” is defined to mean, “Space inclosed or set apart by a partition; an apartment or chamber.” (Webster’s Dictionary.) A room may as well be on a ship as on shore; in fact, the spaces assigned to passengers on a ship are known as staterooms. In view of the manifest purpose of section 318 to further the suppression of gambling and prostitution, we cannot think the legislature intended to draw any fine distinctions as to the nature of the places put under its ban, and we hold that the words enumerating those places are used in their most general sense, and as so used include ships. See Coleman v. State, 13 Ala. 602, and Dickey v. State, 68 Ala. 508, holding that a steamboat or ferry-boat is a place, within the meaning of a statute prohibiting gambling in public places.

Appellants also attack the judgments on the ground that the evidence shows the “Johanna Smith”, at the time of the offense charged, to have been on the high seas and therefore entirely beyond the jurisdiction of the state of California, or at least in Orange County, and therefore, beyond the criminal jurisdiction of the Long Beach Municipal Court, claiming that, for one or the other of these [779]*779reasons, the offense is without the jurisdiction of the municipal court. In the view we take of the matter the position of the ship is immaterial. To state our reasons for this conclusion requires some further interpretation of section 318.

The conduct constituting the offense at which this section is aimed is defined in the words “through invitation or device, prevails upon any person to visit any room, building or other places”, the remainder being merely descriptive of the places. It is plain that the offense is not committed by the mere passing of an invitation or use . of a device. If it were, no further words describing the offense would be necessary, and the sentence might have been completed by the use of the word “requests”, or other equivalent term but instead thereof we find the expression “prevails upon”, whose meaning goes far beyond the mere giving of an invitation. The primary sense of the word “prevail” is, “To gain the victory; have the mastery; triumph.” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.) In a secondary or figurative sense it means, according to the same authority, “To bring persuasion, inducement or urgency to bear (on, upon or with) successfully.” (Italics ours.) Similar definitions are given by other lexicographers. In section 318 the word is unquestionably used in the sense last stated, and by its use the legislature declared that the offense is not completed unless the person subjected to an invitation or device actually goes to a place described in the section. Without this there might be an attempt to violate section 318, but nothing more, and since the appellants were found guilty of a completed offense, we are not here concerned with an attempt. This statute is very similar to a Minnesota statute which was under consideration in State v. Stickney, 118 Minn. 64 [136 N. W. 419], That statute declared it unlawful “to induce, entice or procure . . . any female person ... to enter any house of ill fame”, and the court there declared that this crime is not complete and no conviction can be had therefor unless the female actually enters the house of ill fame. Our statute of 1929 regarding gambling ships (Stats. 1929, p. 703) is an example of a statute more broadly worded and shows by contrast the effect of section 318. Section 2 of the act of 1929 makes it “unlawful for any person, within this [780]*780state, to solicit, entice, induce, persuade or procure . . . any person to visit any gambling ship”. By the use of the word “solicit”, this statute makes it clear that the conduct of the person solicited is not material to the offense; and this difference between the statutes shows that the act of 1929 has not by implication repealed section 318 as to gambling ships.

But notwithstanding the conclusion just reached, we think the gist of the offense under section 318 is the giving of the invitation or the use of the device by which some person is prevailed upon to visit a place described in the section. The actual visiting is not an act done by the defendant, but a result of his acts, the happening of which is by the section made a condition to his criminal responsibility. Hence' we think it may fairly be said that the crime is committed at the place where the defendant delivers the invitation or makes use of the device, and if that place is within the jurisdiction of the court, it is enough; .that jurisdiction is not affected by the location of the place visited by the other person. The purpose of the statute is to protect the inhabitants of this state against being led into evil courses, and it matters not to that purpose whether the places of evil-doing are in this state or outside of- it. Such was the conclusion reached in State v. Stickney, supra, where the acts of enticement occurred and the prosecution was had in Minnesota, but the house of ill fame entered was in Wisconsin, and it was held that the crime was committed in Minnesota and was within the jurisdiction of the Minnesota courts.

But if it be conceded that we are wrong in this conclusion, and that the commission of an offense under section 318 is consummated at the place visited, nevertheless the acts of invitation, etc., would constitute a part of the offense, the crime would be partly committed where those acts were done, and if any of them were done in Long Beach, as charged, the Long Beach court would have jurisdiction of the offense, under either section 27 or section 781 of the Penal Code, as the case may be. Section 27 provides, in ‘part: “The following persons are liable to punishment under the laws of this state: 1. All persons who commit, in whole or in part, any crime within this state.” Even if the “Johanna Smith” was on the high seas, yet [781]*781if the invitation Avas given in this state, the offense may be prosecuted here, under this section (People v. Botkin, 132 Cal. 231 [84 Am.

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Coleman v. State
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State v. Lintner
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State v. Stickney
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Bluebook (online)
117 Cal. App. 777, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-chase-calappdeptsuper-1931.