People v. Hall

112 Cal. App. 3d 123, 169 Cal. Rptr. 149, 1980 Cal. App. LEXIS 2440
California Court of Appeal·Decided November 17, 1980·No. Crim. 20369·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Opinion

ELKINGTON, Acting P. J.

Defendant Hall’s appeal is from a judgment of conviction, followed by suspended sentences to state prison and a grant of probation, founded upon a jury’s verdicts of guilty on several counts of sale or transportation of LSD and peyote. (See Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11352, 11379.)

Following our earlier affirmance of the judgment we granted a rehearing in order to reconsider claimed sentencing error of the superior court. We again affirm, for the following reasons.

Hall first contends that: “The trial court committed reversible error in admitting into evidence a mostly inaudible tape recording of a conversation between appellant and undercover narcotics Officer Harmston.”

Substantial portions of the tape recording, as often occurs under such circumstances, were inaudible. However, other portions contained understandable dialogue typical of a narcotic or dangerous drug transaction of sale. For instance: to an inquiry about how many “hits” could be obtained for $20, a voice answered “eleven.” And there was dialogue suggesting that a hundred “hits” might be obtained for $125 or $145.

“The fact. . .that ‘a recording may not be clear in its entirety does not of itself require its exclusion from evidence, “since a witness may testify to a part of a conversation if that is all he heard and it appears to be intelligible.”’” (People v. Ketchel (1963) 59 Cal.2d 503, 519 [30 Cal.Rptr. 538, 381 P.2d 394], disapproved on other grounds People v. Morse (1969) 60 Cal.2d 631, 649 and fn. 2 [36 Cal.Rptr. 201, 388 P.2d 33, 12 A.L.R.3d 810]; People v. Schwartzman (1968) 266 Cal.App.2d 870, 886 [72 Cal.Rptr. 616]; People v. Dupree (1968) 156 Cal.App.2d 60, 68 [68 Cal.Rptr. 525]; and see People v. Curtis (1955) 134 Cal.App.2d 624, 627 [286 P.2d 446]; People v. Porter (1951) 105 Cal.App.2d 324, 331 [233 P.2d 102].) The rule, as indicated by People v. Ketchel, is derived from the long-established principle “that a witness *127 may testify to part of a conversation if that is all that he heard and it appears to be intelligible.” (People v. Adamson (1946) 27 Cal.2d 478, 485 [165 P.2d 3], affd. sub nom. Adamson v. California (1947) 332 U.S. 46 [91 L.Ed 1903, 67 S.Ct. 1672, 171 A.L.R. 1223]; People v. Ramos (1935) 3 Cal.2d 269, 272 [44 P.2d 301]; People v. Luis (1910) 158 Cal. 185, 194 [110 P. 580]; People v. Tarbox (1896) 115 Cal. 57, 64 [46 P. 896]; People v. Daniels (1894) 105 Cal. 262, 265 [38 P. 720]; People v. Lint (1960) 182 Cal.App.2d 402, 417 [6 Cal.Rptr. 95]; People v. King (1950) 101 Cal.App.2d 500, 508 [225 P.2d 500]; People v. Rabalete (1938) 28 Cal.App.2d 480, 485 [82 P.2d 707].)

In the admission or rejection of such evidence the trial court has a broad discretion; absent a manifest abuse of that discretion resulting in a miscarriage of justice, its decision will not be reversed on appeal. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 13; Evid. Code, .§§ 352-354; People v. Wein (1977) 69 Cal.App.3d 79, 90 [137 Cal.Rptr. 814].) We discern no abuse of discretion here.

We have not failed to consider People v. Williams (1975) 13 Cal.3d 559, 564-565 [119 Cal.Rptr. 210, 531 P.2d 778], relied upon by Hall in his appellate reply brief. But Williams simply gives effect to the rule that where part of a declaration “is given in evidence by one party,” the adverse party, here the defendant, may “inquire into” other relévant parts of the declaration (see Evid. Code, § 356, formerly in substance Code Civ. Proc., § 1854) by cross-examination if feasible, or by evidence produced by the defendant including his own testimony. (See People v. Whitehead (1952) 113 Cal.App.2d 43, 50 [248 P.2d 27]; Hawkinson v. Oesdean (1943) 61 Cal.App.2d 712, 719 [143 P.2d 967].) In such a case defendant is “at liberty to offer evidence in contradiction” (Sly v. Abbott (1928) 89 Cal.App. 209, 218 [264 P. 507]), or otherwise to bring out “all that was said by [him] in the conversations” (Wescoatt v. Meeker (1944) 63 Cal.App.2d 618, 631 [147 P.2d 41]). Nothing is seen in People v. Williams which repudiates these long-established rules, or which otherwise forecloses proof of any intelligible or meaningful part of a conversation when the whole of it is unavailable.

It is next contended that: “The trial court committed reversible instructional error in permitting the jury to find that appellant had confessed and in effectively instructing them that appellant had made either a confession or admission.”

*128 The complained of instruction was that known as CALJIC No. 2.72 which as modified was read to the jury as follows: “No person may be convicted of a criminal offense unless there is some proof of each element of the crime independent of any confession or admission made by him outside of this trial. [1Í] The identity of the person who is alleged to have committed a crime is not an element of the crime. Such identity may be established by an admission.” The charged error was the inclusion in the first sentence of the words “confession or.” (The same words were omitted from the last sentence.) The claimed prejudice is that it “permitted the jury to find that appellant had confessed to the charged crimes,...”

We find neither such error, nor probable prejudice. But assuming error, arguendo, we find it harmless according to the criteria of the state’s Constitution, article VI, section 13, Penal Code section 1258, People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836 [299 P.2d 243] (cert. den., 355 U.S. 846 [2 L.Ed.2d 55, 78 S.Ct. 70]), and Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, 24 [17 L.Ed.2d 705, 710-711, 87 S.Ct.

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People v. Hall, 112 Cal. App. 3d 123, 169 Cal. Rptr. 149, 1980 Cal. App. LEXIS 2440 (Cal. Ct. App. 1980).

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