People v. Murphy

141 P.2d 755, 60 Cal. App. 2d 762, 1943 Cal. App. LEXIS 582
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedOctober 5, 1943
DocketCrim. 3728
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 141 P.2d 755 (People v. Murphy) 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. Murphy, 141 P.2d 755, 60 Cal. App. 2d 762, 1943 Cal. App. LEXIS 582 (Cal. Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

WHITE, J.

In an information filed by the District Attorney of Los Angeles County, defendants were jointly charged in two counts with the crime of abortion. Subsequent to the entry of not guilty pleas, count I of the information was dismissed and count II was amended to show the crime charged as a violation of section 274 of the Penal Code. The charging part of the information as amended alleged that the defendants did “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously provide, supply, use and employ an instrument upon the person of one . . . , a woman, with the willful, unlawful and felonious intent then and there and thereby to procure the miscarriage of the said . . . ,” and that the use and employment of said instrument to procure said miscarriage was not then and *765 there necessary in order to preserve the life of the woman named in the pleading.

Trial by jury resulted in the conviction of both defendants of the crime charged in the amended information. They moved for a new trial which was denied. No judgment was pronounced against either defendant but the proceedings were ordered suspended and they were placed on probation conditioned upon defendant Murphy serving a term of two years, and defendant Jones serving a term of one year, in the county jail. The defendants filed notice of appeal from “the court’s order denying each defendant’s motion for a new trial and from the judgment and sentence of the court. ’ ’

When, as in the instant ease, no judgment was pronounced; proceedings were suspended and the defendants placed on probation, they are without a right of appeal except from the order denying their motion for a new trial. (People v. DeVoe, 123 Cal.App. 233 [11 P.2d 26] ; People v. Johnson, 14 Cal.App.2d 373, 375 [58 P.2d 211]; People v. Dawes, 37 Cal.App.2d 44, 46 [98 P.2d 787]). The attempted appeal from the “judgment and sentence” must therefore be dismissed and consideration given only to the claimed error on the part of the trial court in denying the motions for a new trial.

The factual background surrounding this prosecution may be thus epitomized: Defendant Murphy is a physician and surgeon, licensed to practice his profession in the State of California, and specializing in gynecology, described by him as “the art and science of women’s diseases.” Defendant Jones was employed by her co-defendant as an office receptionist and operative assistant, who, in the instant ease, “prepared the instruments and the table and the anaesthetic, washed the external parts (of the patient) with lysol and placed (the patient) in position” for the surgical operation. After the rendition of these services, according to Dr. Murphy, his co-defendant, Miss Jones, left the room, was not present and did not assist in the actual operation.

The prosecutrix in this case was married in August of 1941. On March 3, 1942, she gave birth to a baby boy. She menstruated once in May, after the birth of the baby, but missed her menstrual period in June, and considered herself pregnant. Because of this belief, she went to a Dr. Obando, who examined her on the occasion of her first visit and again some two weeks thereafter. Dr. Obando made another manual examination of her pelvic region. Following these two ex- *766 animations, the prosecutrix went to the office of defendant Dr. Murphy, where, on the occasion of her first visit, she was met by the defendant Miss Jones. She informed Miss Jones that she had been referred to Dr. Murphy by Dr. Obando; that she asked Miss Jones “What was the price to have something done to me?” to which, according to the testimony of the prosecutrix, defendant Miss Jones asked her “How long are you—how long was I pregnant, and I told her the date.” Defendant Miss Jones then inquired of the prosecutrix as to how long the latter had gone without menstruation, after which defendant Miss Jones said “We don’t do anything to anybody after they are seven weeks.” After being informed that “The price is $75.00,” the prosecutrix stated she did not have that much money with her and made an appointment to return with the money on July 21st. On the last named date, the prosecutrix returned to the doctor’s office in company with a friend. Defendant Jones then called her into a room, asked for the $75, which she paid but no receipt was given therefor. At the request of Miss Jones, the prosecutrix then signed a card consenting to an operation, and returned to the reception room to advise her friend, as suggested by defendant Miss Jones, to return at 2:30 o’clock. The prosecutrix was then returned to another room by defendant Miss Jones who placed her on a table and who, after the prosecutrix had disrobed and put on “a sort of a smock,” administered the anaesthetic. At the time the anaesthetic was administered, defendant Dr. Murphy was present in the room, standing on the other side of the table. While engaged in a conversation with Dr. Murphy during the administration of the anaesthetic, the prosecutrix “went to sleep” and remembers nothing thereafter until after the operation when she revived, and after waiting about half an hour, her friend came and the prosecutrix was taken home. After the operation on July 21st, the prosecutrix again visited Dr. Obando. The latter made an examination of her, after which she again returned to appellant Murphy’s office where she was examined by him. At that time Dr. Murphy gave her a prescription. A few days later she again visited Dr. Murphy’s office where her temperature was taken by defendant Miss Jones who gave her a yellow box containing large pills.

The prosecutrix testified that when she went to Dr. Murphy’s office for the operation she was in good health but following the operation did not feel very well, was nauseated and felt “as though she was still pregnant.” She told both *767 defendants that she felt like she “was still pregnant and was suffering from nausea.” Five visits to appellant’s office were made by the prosecutrix and on the occasion of the last one she had commenced to flow heavily. On this last visit she was put on the table and defendant Dr. Murphy inserted a tube of jelly into the prosecutrix’s vagina, informing her that this would give her pain, and she testified she had very severe pains and was very sick. Upon returning home she took to her bed. About a week and a half later defendant Dr. Murphy visited the prosecutrix at her home, inquired of her if she had discharged anything, to which she replied “nothing but blood.” During the time Dr. Murphy was visiting the prosecutrix at her home, the latter’s sister came in and in the presence of the prosecutrix asked Dr. Murphy what was wrong, informing him that her sister was very ill, had been flowing for ten days and was getting weaker and weaker. She asked defendant Dr. Murphy to send the prosecutrix to a hospital or to refund half the money paid him so that arrangements could be made for her hospitalization. Defendant Dr. Murphy refused to do either and insisted that the prosecutrix would be all right. This was the last time the prosecutrix saw either defendant.

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Bluebook (online)
141 P.2d 755, 60 Cal. App. 2d 762, 1943 Cal. App. LEXIS 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-murphy-calctapp-1943.