People v. Findley

64 P. 472, 132 Cal. 301, 1901 Cal. LEXIS 1053
CourtCalifornia Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 22, 1901
DocketCrim. No. 668.
StatusPublished
Cited by48 cases

This text of 64 P. 472 (People v. Findley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Findley, 64 P. 472, 132 Cal. 301, 1901 Cal. LEXIS 1053 (Cal. 1901).

Opinion

GRAY, C.

—The defendant was convicted of embezzling eight thousand dollars, public money in his hands as tax-collector of San Luis Obispo County, and sentenced to eight years in the state prison. He appeals from the judgment of conviction. We will consider the points urged for reversal in the order in which they appear in appellant’s brief.

1. When this case was called for trial, defendant’s attorney, pursuant to the provisions of section 170 of the Code of Civil Procedure, moved the court to secure the services of some judge, other than the regular judge of the court, to preside at the trial and in the subsequent proceedings. The affidavit of the defendant was filed and read in support of this motion. The affidavit of the district attorney in rebuttal was also filed and read on the motion. The court denied the motion.

In his affidavit, defendant alleges five acts of the judge of the trial court as tending to show his prejudice against defendant. These acts are as follows: 1. The said judge, in December, 1897, advocated the candidacy of his brother-in-law for tax-collector, as against defendant’s candidacy for the same office, before the board of supervisors, and defendant received the appointment, much to the displeasure of said judge. 2. That said judge had consented to a reduction of defendant’s bail from ten thousand to six thousand dollars, and then withdrew said concession, without assigning any reason therefor. 3. That after a former trial of this case and a disagreement of the jury, the Evening Breeze, a newspaper of San Luis Obispo, published an editorial, criticising and deriding the defendant and the disagreeing jury, and intended to prejudice the public mind against defendant. Defendant says he verily believes that a bias exists in the mind of said judge against defendant, or otherwise the proprietor, editor, or manager of said paper would have been cited to show cause why he should not be punished for *304 contempt. 4. That, at a former trial of the case, after defendant’s counsel had made his opening statement to the jury, said judge, “in an audible voice, and within hearing of the jury, said substantially that he had never had any doubt as to the sanity of the defendant, to which remark defendant’s counsel then and there duly excepted.” 5. That, prior to the first trial, said judge, at request of the prosecution, issued a foreign subpoena for one John C. Fraser, and notwithstanding the failure of service in this state on said Fraser, he was served in Denver, Colorado, and attended as a witness, and said judge, illegally ordered a warrant drawn on the county treasurer in Fraser’s favor for $184.45, in payment of his traveling expenses from Denver, Colorado, to San Luis Obispo and return. That defendant requested a foreign subpoena for one Berry, the auditor of the Fidelity and Deposit Company, a material witness for defendant, and said judge refused the order.

It is not sufficient, in a case of this kind, to allege in the affidavit simply that the defendant “ believes that he cannot have a fair and impartial trial,” etc., but it must be made to appear by the affidavit or affidavits on file that a fair trial cannot be had before the judge about to try the case, by reason of the bias and prejudice of such judge. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 170, subd. 4.) The affidavit or affidavits must not only state facts, but the facts stated must establish to the satisfaction of a reasonable mind that the judge has a bias or prejudice that will in all probability prevent him from dealing fairly with the defendant. We are unwilling to think that a trial judge would be prejudiced, within the meaning of the statute cited, against one on trial before him, on account of his successful candidacy for office against a relative of such judge.

The withdrawal of the consent to reduce bail without giving any reason therefor simply amounted to a refusal to reduce the bail. We cannot say that the bail was excessive under all the circumstances of the case, and on the question under consideration no importance can be attached to the action of the court in this regard.

Insanity being set up as a defense, if the judge had wantonly, and without any occasion for it, announced in the presence of the jury that he had never had any doubt as to defendant’s sanity, this might indicate that he was not disposed to give the defendant a fair trial; but the affidavit does *305 not give us the full proceedings in reference to this matter; it does not state what was said by defendant’s counsel, in his opening statement or elsewhere, to call forth any remark from the court as to the sanity of defendant. The exact language of court and counsel was undoubtedly taken down by the court reporter at the time, and this, or its substance, should have been presented at the hearing of the motion. In the absence of a showing to that effect, it will not be presumed that the court made the remark without any call for it. The only proper occasion, that occurs to us, that the court would have to announce that he never had any doubt as .to defendant’s sanity would be in response to a suggestion on the part of defendant’s attorney that his client was then insane, and a demand that the question of his then present sanity be tried before a jury called specially for that purpose, in accordance with the provisions of section 1368 of the Penal Code. It would be no evidence of prejudice in the judge, for him to declare, in response to a demand of this nature, that he had no doubt as to the sanity of defendant; and if counsel desired that the declaration should not be made in the presence of the jury, he should not call for the ruling in their presence, but should request the court to direct them to retire.

As to the denial of a foreign subpoena, there is nothing in defendant’s affidavit to show that he ever filed with the judge an affidavit, or took the requisite steps to entitle him to a foreign subpoena. (Pen. Code, sec. 1330.) A mere request was not sufficient to entitle the defendant to a foreign subpoena.

The other allegations of defendant’s affidavit are not of sufficient importance to require special notice.

We deem it sufficient, under this head, to say, in conclusion, that the statute (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 170) leaves the-hearing upon a motion of this kind-to the judge in whose court it is made, and consequently his decision on the questions of fact before him should be treated the same as the decision of a court on any other question of fact, and we can interfere with it on appeal only when it is plainly contrary to the evidence. After a careful consideration of the affidavits used on the hearing, we cannot say that the trial court was not warranted in denying the motion. (Higgins v. San Diego, 126 Cal. 303, 312.)

2. It appears that the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland was surety on defendant’s official bond as tax- *306 collector; and at the trial the prosecution introduced evidence, in the way of checks and the indorsements thereon, to show that said surety had paid to the county $8,246.50, presumably on account of defendant’s defalcation. The defendant objected to these checks as evidence, on the ground that they were “ incompetent, immaterial, and irrelevant for any purpose in the case.” The prosecuting attorney said, “We will show its connection.” The overruling of the objection is assigned as error.

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Bluebook (online)
64 P. 472, 132 Cal. 301, 1901 Cal. LEXIS 1053, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-findley-cal-1901.