People v. McIlvain

130 P.2d 131, 55 Cal. App. 2d 322, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 59
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 30, 1942
DocketCrim. 3590
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 130 P.2d 131 (People v. McIlvain) 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. McIlvain, 130 P.2d 131, 55 Cal. App. 2d 322, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 59 (Cal. Ct. App. 1942).

Opinions

SHINN, J.

Defendant was found guilty by jury verdict of the crimes of rape committed with force and violence and of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, charged by separate counts of an information. Sentence was imposed upon each conviction, the term of imprisonment on the assault charge being ordered to run concurrently with that upon the rape charge. Defendant’s motion for new trial was denied and he gave oral notice of appeal, which will be regarded as an appeal from the judgment as to each count and from the order denying his motion for new trial as well. Upon the appeal he relies upon the following grounds for reversal: (1) That the evidence was insufficient to establish his guilt of either offense; (2) that the court erred in the admission of testimony of the prosecutrix given at the preliminary examination upon an insufficient showing of inability on the part of the People to have her present at the trial; (3) alleged error in the reopening of the case for the receipt of further evidence on behalf of the People, and (4) that the crime of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury is included within the crime of forcible rape and that therefore he has been convicted twice for a single offense. There is no merit in any of these contentions.

The prosecutrix, an unmarried woman 33 years of age, accompanied defendant, 27 years of age, and two other young men in an automobile to a dance hall in Santa Monica, several miles from the home of the prosecutrix in Culver City. After dancing until the place was closed and having indulged in moderate drinking, defendant and prosecutrix started for the latter’s home at about 1:30 a. m. in an automobile which defendant had borrowed from the other young men. They arrived at the home of the prosecutrix at about 7 a. m. where they met the husband of a niece of the prosecutrix. The intervening time had been spent in the car, all but an inconsiderable part of it at a secluded spot off the highway where defendant had driven and stopped the ear. During the four or five hours while the car was thus parked defendant was [325]*325contimiously endeavoring to rape the prosecutrix against her vigorous resistance. While he failed to completely accomplish his purpose defendant did succeed in going far enough in his attempt to satisfy the law as it defines the crime of rape. In the struggle defendant threw the prosecutrix from the front seat into the rear seat of the car and onto floor of ear and repeatedly struck her; she was bruised, sustained a one-inch laceration of the wall of the vagina as a result of the insertion of defendant’s fingers, which caused her pain and which was accompanied by a threat of defendant that if she did not submit he would further injure her. Upon her arrival home prosecutrix stated to her niece’s husband, in the presence of defendant, that she had been wrestling with defendant since 1:30; defendant said he was sorry and that he had brought her home. The prosecutrix went to bed, her sister came for her about 10 o’clock that morning, found her in bed and took her to a physician, where she was physically examined. All of the foregoing facts were testified to by the prosecutrix at the preliminary examination of defendant and this testimony was used at the trial. The physician testified that the examination disclosed evidence of the laceration hereinbefore mentioned. Defendant admitted having been in the car with the prosecutrix at the place and for the time described by the latter, admitted having embraced and kissed her; denied that she objected to his advances, that he had any thought of improper conduct or that he committed any of the acts of force and violence as testified to by the prosecutrix. A police officer who placed defendant under arrest testified that defendant then told him that he had driven the prosecutrix home, had stopped the car at some location, that he and the prosecutrix had wrestled about for awhile, that he was so drunk he did not remember exactly what happened, and that he did not blame prosecutrix for having him arrested. The evidence was sufficient to sustain the verdicts of guilty under both counts of the information.

In laying a foundation for the introduction of the evidence of the prosecutrix given at the preliminary, the People proved that an investigator from the district attorney’s office went to the home of the prosecutrix on March 6, twenty-one days before the trial, and again on March 17 and found no one at home. He then went to the office of the physician, for whom he had a subpoena and who was a witness in the case and [326]*326was referred by him to prosecutrix’ sister, whom he also questioned. The sister testified that her former home and that of prosecutrix had been in Colorado; that their aged parents and other relatives lived there; that prosecutrix had told her that she was going to Colorado; that she decided definitely to go and left on the 14th of March; that prosecutrix took all of her possessions with her, including her clothes; that she, the witness, had received a letter from her mother stating that prosecutrix had arrived in Colorado Springs and that she still was in the State of Colorado. She produced a letter identified as having been written by her mother in Colorado Springs and which was dated March 17 and received by the witness March 19. The letter was handed to counsel for defendant, who said, “I object to this exhibit being read, except the portion referring to Collie [the prosecutrix].” The portions not objected to were then read and consisted of statements that the prosecutrix had arrived and with others had gone on to Denver. The witness further testified that she had not seen her sister in California since receiving the letter and was positive that she had not returned. Upon this showing defendant’s objection to the introduction of the evidence given at the preliminary was overruled and the testimony was read. It is now contended that the efforts made to locate the witness did not amount to due diligence so as to justify the receipt in evidence of the testimony of the witness given at the preliminary hearing, as required by section 686 of the Penal Code. The officer served a subpoena on the sister and no doubt gained from her information that the prosecutrix had departed for Colorado under the circumstances which she later described when called as a witness. It was not shown that the officer who made the search for the witness, or the district attorney, had any reason to believe at the time that the statements of the sister were untrue or that further efforts to locate the witness would be worth while. Upon the receipt of credible and authentic information that the witness had left the state shortly before the trial, and in the absence of any reason to believe that she had returned, further search in the few days remaining before trial was not required. The question was one addressed to the discretion of the court; in the absence of abuse of discretion in the ruling, and none was shown, the decision is conclusive upon appeal. (People v. Levine, (1936) 12 Cal.App.2d 410, 412-13 [55 P.2d 556]; People v. Tiracorda, [327]*327(1935) 8 Cal.App.2d 517, 519-20 [48 P.2d 116]; People v. Land, (1934) 137 Cal.App. 196, 198 [30 P.2d 433]; People v. James, (1933) 133 Cal.App. 751 [24 P.2d 859].)

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Bluebook (online)
130 P.2d 131, 55 Cal. App. 2d 322, 1942 Cal. App. LEXIS 59, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-mcilvain-calctapp-1942.