People v. Hubbard

346 P.2d 31, 175 Cal. App. 2d 92, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1304
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 4, 1959
DocketCrim. No. 2953
StatusPublished

This text of 346 P.2d 31 (People v. Hubbard) 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. Hubbard, 346 P.2d 31, 175 Cal. App. 2d 92, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1304 (Cal. Ct. App. 1959).

Opinion

PEEK, J.

Defendant was convicted of a violation of section 702 of the Welfare and Institutions Code following a jury trial. His motion for a new trial was denied and he now appeals from that order and from the judgment.

On appeal defendant contends (1) that the court erred in admitting evidence of alleged prior misconduct; (2) that the court erred in giving an instruction on the element of intent; (3) that the court abused its discretion in refusing his proffered evidence concerning his reputation for morality ; and (4) that the court abused its discretion in not allowing him to introduce evidence concerning the reputation for truthfulness of a prosecuting witness.

Since it is our conclusion that the court erred as set forth in defendant’s first contention (which is likewise applicable to his second contention) it is necessary to examine the entire record to determine if such error resulted in a miscarriage of justice. (Cal. Const., art. VI, § 4½.) We therefore have summarized the evidence in detail.

The prosecution’s case consisted of testimony by the prosecutrix, by a detective sergeant of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s office, by the chief investigator for the district attorney’s office, and by a 15-year-old cousin of the prosecutrix.

The prosecutrix, a child of 10 years, was the first witness. She testified that she had gone to the graduation ceremony of the summer Bible school class at the church where defendant was the minister. She had walked unattended to the ceremony from her home which was approximately a half block distant from the church. Her mother had told her to ask one of the teachers to bring her home. At the conclusion of the exercises the teachers left, and the defendant stated to her that he would take her. Although she stated that her mother had suggested she ask one of the teachers to take her home, she told the defendant she was going to an aunt’s home instead. As they were driving toward the aunt’s home, the defendant [94]*94stopped for a stop sign, at which time he placed his hand on her leg and said, “I pinched it, didn’t If” On the way they passed the school ground where a “donkey” baseball game was in progress. They were at the opposite side of the field from the main gate and defendant told her to wait a minute and he would take her around to the main gate. As he started up he pulled her over close to him, and because she was afraid he might hurt her, she made no remonstrance. When he pulled her toward him he pressed her hard on the chest, and shortly thereafter he placed his hand under her dress and panties and “. . . asked me to stretch my legs and said did it tickle. ’ ’ She was not sure if his hand was inside or outside of her panties, but she was of the impression that it was inside, and in response to the question, “Did he just lay his hand on you or did he press on you or do you know?” she answered, “He moved it around. ’ ’ Later when she was asked if defendant had placed his hand upon her “private parts” she answered in the affirmative, saying that while he was doing this he had said, “Spread your legs,” and “Does it tickle?” She then testified that immediately thereafter he stopped the car and let her out; that she saw her aunt and went home with her. Upon reaching her aunt’s home she spoke to her 15-year-old cousin and recounted the events previously referred to.

Upon cross-examination she testified that her home was approximately a half block from the church but that she was going to her aunt’s home which was approximately two or three blocks away. She did not remember whether the defendant had suggested that possibly she should not go to the ball game in response to her request that she wished him to let her out there. However, she said she wanted to go to the game, that she had not asked her mother if she could go but later stated her mother had told her she couldn’t go to the game. Then she stated that the reason she went to the game was that she became frightened when defendant pinched her leg. Although she stated she was afraid of the defendant, she also testified that he made no attempt to restrain her from getting out of the car; that when he pulled her over to him his hand was on her side; that she did not remember what he did with his hand after that, but she did state that previously he had started to “. . . pull up my dresses [sic] and got into my underwear.” She rode home with her aunt but told her nothing about what had occurred. The first person she said anything to was her cousin, Ginger Yvonne Rogers, who was [95]*95approximately 15 years of age. She testified that she thereafter told her mother and her brother and talked to a member of the police. She further testified that she had discussed the matter with a schoolmate who had had a similar experience, and that she had also discussed the ease with other school children. In her testimony she estimated that the time it took to go from the church to the ball game was approximately three or four minutes, that at the time defendant pulled her toward him she remembered him saying, “It is kind of chilly.” In that connection she testified that she said nothing in reply because she was “... too seared to say anything.’’

The next witness called by the prosecution was Edward Bates, a detective sergeant of the Stanislaus County sheriff’s office, who testified that he first talked to the defendant in front of his home on the day following the alleged offense; that when defendant was told who the complainant was, he said: “Why, bless her heart, she must be mistaken.” At the officer’s request the defendant met him at the sheriff’s office the following afternoon. At their subsequent conversation the officer informed defendant of his right to counsel, that he did not have to talk if he did not wish to, and defendant stated he would be willing to do so. The officer testified he asked the defendant if he had placed his hand on the child’s private parts and his reply was, ‘ ‘ ‘ The only place I touched her was on the shoulder. I patted her on the shoulder. Well,’ I said, ‘that isn’t what she said. She said you went further than that. She said that you touched her on her private parts, and in fact you asked her, “Does that tickle?” ’ And he said in response to that, he says, ‘Well, I might have tickled her on the ribs, on one side, just playfully, but that’s all, no further than that.’ However, he then went on to say, ‘Well, I’ll tell you, I ’ll tell you the truth, ’ he said, ‘ I dropped my hand down to her private parts,’ and he said, ‘I was struck with shame,’ he said, ‘I squeezed’—he said, not squeezed, ‘I pressed,’ he said, ‘I pressed down there,’ and his hand went three times, like this (illustrating.) ” Thereafter the officer called Ferguson Buster, the chief investigator for the district attorney’s office, and in the presence of the defendant, related what the defendant had said. The defendant did not deny the statement.

The prosecution then called Mr. Buster who testified that he made a recording of the statement of defendant which was thereafter introduced into evidence. According to Buster, [96]*96the defendant denied that he had molested the child in any way.

The next witness called by the prosecution was the cousin, Ginger Yvonne Rogers, who testified that when the girl returned home she immediately began to cry and said that the defendant had “. . . fingered around between her legs.” The witness denied that she had told one of the defendant’s daughters that the prosecutrix had not shed a tear at the time of her conversation with her.

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People v. Westek
190 P.2d 9 (California Supreme Court, 1948)
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Bluebook (online)
346 P.2d 31, 175 Cal. App. 2d 92, 1959 Cal. App. LEXIS 1304, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-hubbard-calctapp-1959.