People v. Fuentes

282 P.2d 524, 132 Cal. App. 2d 484, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2216
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 21, 1955
DocketCrim. 5295
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 282 P.2d 524 (People v. Fuentes) 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. Fuentes, 282 P.2d 524, 132 Cal. App. 2d 484, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2216 (Cal. Ct. App. 1955).

Opinions

VALLÉE, J.

Lamberson and Puentes were convicted by a jury on two counts of armed robbery. Lamberson was also found by the jury to have suffered a prior conviction of robbery. Lamberson, referred to as defendant, appeals from the judgment and from the.order denying his motion for a new trial.

Defendant’s principal ground for reversal is that due to the loss of part of the reporter’s notes covering some of the defense, he has been placed in a position where he cannot [486]*486show “by the reports of the evidence” that the judgment appealed from has resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

The reporter’s transcript on appeal consists of the evidence in chief of the prosecution, the testimony of defendant’s wife on defense, the testimony of a witness for the defense on direct and part of her cross-examination, and a transcript of the judge’s notes “as to a portion of the Reporter’s notes, which have been lost.”

The record shows that after the notice of appeal was filed proceedings were had for “Settlement of Statement on Appeal” at which the deputy district attorney who tried the case and the attorney who had represented defendant at the trial were present. At that hearing the trial judge stated that the reporter had misplaced or lost a notebook which contained a part of the testimony, “the latter portion of the testimony taken at the trial,” and that he was unable to find it. The judge stated he had taken notes and had gone over them with the reporter and with both counsel; that the reporter had told him the notes coincided with his recollection and that the reporter “was unable to add anything to the narrative statement, other than a few words which he did add, by way of correction or addition”; that he had “gone through these notes with both counsel. They have both made suggestions to me regarding objections, rulings, so forth, which we have all agreed upon and which I have added on this copy of the notes which were typed up from my handwritten notes”; that “The Court’s notes were fairly complete in this case” and “I feel in this case all of the substance of the testimony is set forth in narrative form and all of the rulings are set forth, and I have gone through it with counsel, invited additions or corrections or deletions or anything counsel might suggest in an effort to secure an adequate and complete record”; that “There were no objections made by either counsel to the argument of the other.”1 On suggestion of [487]*487counsel for both parties a number of matters were added to the judge’s notes.

Counsel for defendant objected to the settling of the record on the ground “it is impossible to present an adequate record on appeal based purely upon the memory of counsel and upon the notes that the Trial Judge was able to take at the time of the trial.” The court then settled the notes and the additions as a partial statement on appeal to supplement the reporter’s transcript. The trial judge has certified:

“ [T]hat the objections made to the transcript herein have been held and allowed and the same is now corrected in accordance with such determination within the time allowed by law and the same is now therefore approved by me this 21st day of October, 1954. ’ ’

Rule 35(b) of the Rules on Appeal provides, “The reporter shall prepare . . . the reporter’s transcript . . . and shall append . . . a certificate that it is correct.” Rule 36(a) provides, “The parties may present the appeal on an agreed statement” and rule 36(b) provides, “If a transcription of any part of the oral proceedings cannot be obtained for any reason, the appellant, as soon as the impossibility of obtaining a transcript is discovered, may serve and file an application for permission to prepare a settled statement in place thereof.” The rules make no provision for a situation such as the present where literal compliance with rule 35(b) has become impossible without fault of any party and where the defendant-appellant has not chosen to appeal on an agreed statement.

The impossibility of procuring a reporter’s transcript is not a ground for granting a new trial. (Pen. Code, § 1181.) An appellant has no right to a transcript prepared in a particular manner. The burden of furnishing the re[488]*488viewing court with a statement on appeal where a transcription of the reporter’s notes cannot be had is on the appellant. (People v. Chessman, 35 Cal.2d 455, 457-458 [218 P.2d 769, 19 A.L.R.2d 1084].) If a record can be “prepared in such a manner as to enable the court to pass upon the questions sought to be raised, ’ ’ then there is no rational likelihood or legally cognizable possibility of injustice to the appealing defendant even though a verbatim record certified by the official court reporter cannot be supplied. (Id., p. 460.) “Inconsequential inaccuracies or omissions in a record cannot prejudice a party; if in truth there does exist some consequential inaccuracy or omission, the appellant must show what it is and why it is consequential.” (Id., p. 462.)

The trial judge has determined that the record is adequate. We may not presume that defendant did not have a fair trial because part of the reporter’s notes had been lost without fault of either party. (People v. Botkin, 9 Cal.App. 244, 249 [98 P. 861].) On this appeal we must presume that defendant has been accorded a fair trial and that the judgment of conviction is valid. This presumption is buttressed by the fact that the trial judge denied defendant’s motion for a new trial. The burden is on defendant of showing either prejudicial error in the record or that the record is so inadequate that he is unable to show such error. (People v. Chessman, supra, 35 Cal.2d 455, 462.) No- such showing is made in the case at bar.

Our examination of the record in the light of defendant’s contentions discloses that it is adequate to permit this court to perform its function of reviewing the cause and determining whether there was error in the court below and, if so, whether such error requires reversal. The record is sufficient to enable us to ascertain whether there was a fair trial and whether there has been a miscarriage of justice. The record contains ample evidence to support the verdict. Defendant does not claim otherwise. His contentions are that the court erred with respect to various rulings made during the course of the trial.

As to count I, Mrs. Dolores Gallegos testified that defendant and Fuentes held her up and robbed her of about $100 in her grocery store on the night of December 30, 1953. She was positive of the identification. Defendant had a gun pointing at her.

As to count II, Mrs. Wilma Eice testified that defendant and Fuentes held her up and robbed her of about $547 in [489]*489cash and checks in her place of business on the morning of January 8, 1954. She was positive of the identification. A Mr. Latehford who was present testified to the same effect. He also was positive as to the identification. Defendant forced his commands with a gun. There was evidence of' admissions by defendant as to both offenses. The defense as to both counts was an alibi and error in identification.

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People v. Fuentes
282 P.2d 524 (California Court of Appeal, 1955)

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Bluebook (online)
282 P.2d 524, 132 Cal. App. 2d 484, 1955 Cal. App. LEXIS 2216, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-fuentes-calctapp-1955.