People v. O'Brien

232 P. 752, 70 Cal. App. 130, 1924 Cal. App. LEXIS 61
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 6, 1924
DocketDocket No. 1200.
StatusPublished

This text of 232 P. 752 (People v. O'Brien) 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. O'Brien, 232 P. 752, 70 Cal. App. 130, 1924 Cal. App. LEXIS 61 (Cal. Ct. App. 1924).

Opinion

STURTEVANT, J.

The defendant was convicted of the crime of robbery. From the judgment and the order denying him a new trial he has appealed.

On the twenty-fourth day of September, 1923, Paul Quirk, as cashier of the Great Western Smelting & Refining Company, went to the Anglo and London Paris National Bank of San Francisco and there procured the sum of two thousand four hundred dollars to meet the weekly pay-roll of said company. He was accompanied by a Mr. Blum. They returned from the bank in an automobile. While they were returning they passed down First Street to Folsom Street and then turned into Folsom Street. As they did so another automobile containing two men crowded their car into the curb, causing it to stop. When their ear came to a stop one of the men in the other automobile alighted and pointed a gun at Quirk and Blum and demanded the money. The bandit was on the left-hand side of the machine and standing in the street. Blum sat on the same side of the machine and was between the bandit and Quirk. Upon the demand *132 of the bandit Quirk handed the satchel containing the money to the bandit. During this time the other bandit had remained in the machine. Neither one of the bandits was masked. On the last day of December, 1923, Quirk and Blum were both called to the city jail.

“Mr. U’Ren: Q. Now did you again see this defendant after this occurrence upon the street that you have just related? A. I think it was the last day of December, 1923. Q. Where? A. In the city jail. Q. And under what circumstances ? A. I was taken up to a room there where there were seven or eight men lined up, and asked to—and I was asked if I could pick out the man who held me up out of that bunch. Q. Did you pick him out? A. I did. Q. Who did you pick out? A. O’Brien. Q. The defendant here? A. The defendant.”

Otherwise than to state the facts of the occurrence on September 24, 1923, the direct examination of the witness Quirk contained not a word of evidence as to any other matter, conversation, or thing except as above stated. In particular he was not asked of or concerning any conversation, or conversations, except as above stated. On cross-examination counsel for the appellant developed certain inconsistencies regarding the statements made at different times by the witness of and concerning the weight of the bandit, the height of the bandit, and the exact color of the bandit’s hair. He also developed the fact that the bandit who held the revolver stood within three feet of the witness in plain sight and that he could be seen plainly and that he was unmasked. In conducting his cross-examination the attorney for the appellant was allowed, without objection, to state that on the day of the robbery Detective McGrath came to the office.and interviewed the witness of and concerning the holdup and to state fully statements made by the witness to McGrath at that time. In the same manner the witness was fully examined regarding his visit to the city jail on December 31, 1923; to state who accompanied him and where they went. Following these proceedings the witness was then asked: “ Q. Mr. Blum, the gentleman who was with you on that day, did not identify this defendant, did he? Mr. U’Ren: We object upon the ground that it is incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial, not cross-examination . . . hearsay, not the best evidence. The Court: ... I will sustain the objection.” The ruling was - clearly correct. On *133 direct examination the witness Quirk had tendered himself as a witness as to what he saw and did, and had not claimed to give any evidence as to what Mr. Blum saw or did.

After asking many questions in an attempt to prove his whole case out of the mouth of the witness, appellant’s counsel then stated (Tr., p. 21) : “Mr. McKenzie: Without transgressing your Honor’s ruling, I now offer to prove that as a result of this same show-up with the same parties in the line, that the defendant was by the police department and the officials thereof accused of the crime of robbery committed on August 24, 1923, and we further offer to follow that up by proof that all of that day he was in jail at Santa Rosa during the entire twenty-four hours, charged with disturbing the peace. Mr. TJ’Ren: Is that all—all the charges that counsel is willing to stipulate this man was accused of at that time? Mr. McKenzie: I now assign the remark of the district attorney as prejudicial misconduct and ask your Honor to instruct the jury to disregard it. In answering you, I will say that is all. Mr. U’Ren: And I will state that I now assign the offer of counsel as prejudicial misconduct and ask the court to instruct the jury to disregard it. The Court: I think the statements of the attorney will be shown— the jury will be admonished that they are not evidence in any way, and = consequently cannot be considered as such, and will be disregarded as such unless they are stipulations. Let us proceed with the case.” Practically the same offer was made previously. (Tr., p. 18.) Counsel complains that the admonition of the court did not cure the alleged errors. This remark assumes that error was committed. We do not agree. The appellant’s contention simplified amounts to this: On December 31, 1923, at the time and place the witness Quirk identified the appellant, another person mistakenly identified this defendant, therefore this defendant should be entitled to prove such fact to the end that the jury might determine as to whether or not the witness in the chair was making an error. Such a contention has no logic in it. However, the appellant presented the contention. To make the contention it became necessary for him to demonstrate the fact that the other error had been committed. To complete that demonstration it became necessary for the appellant to disclose the fact that he was in jail on August 24, 1923. As to the case on trial, it was utterly immaterial, *134 viewed from any light, as to what he was in jail for on August 24th. Nevertheless the appellant sought to have the jury informed that he was in jail for disturbing the peace and thus minimize the slur on the defendant’s character which the defendant, through his attorney, had, we must assume, introduced and admitted in the belief that he was attempting thereby to serve his client. In other words, the appellant had been driven to the adoption of heroic methods. But be that as it may, he had adopted the incident as a matter of defense. Having adopted it, he was bound to adopt it with its burdens as well as its benefits. If on the day in question he was in jail accused of a higher offense than disturbing the peace, or accused of various offenses, we can see no reason why he should be entitled to place a false record before the jury, namely, that he was' there for disturbing the peace, whereas he was there for other reasons, although, as we stated above, we see no reason why his attorney should have made any statement of or concerning the reason for his incarceration at Santa Rosa on August 24, 1923. If his attorney had omitted that part of his offered proof, no doubt his offer would not have been followed by the question propounded by the district attorney and which question is the subject of this discussion.

The appellant asked the court to instruct the jury as follows: “You are instructed that a witness may be impeached by showing that the witness has made contradictory statements, extrajudieially, that is to say, outside of the courtroom. To impeach means to discredit.

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Bluebook (online)
232 P. 752, 70 Cal. App. 130, 1924 Cal. App. LEXIS 61, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-obrien-calctapp-1924.