People v. Rhoades

209 P.2d 33, 93 Cal. App. 2d 448, 1949 Cal. App. LEXIS 1401
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedAugust 22, 1949
DocketCrim. 2089
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 209 P.2d 33 (People v. Rhoades) 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. Rhoades, 209 P.2d 33, 93 Cal. App. 2d 448, 1949 Cal. App. LEXIS 1401 (Cal. Ct. App. 1949).

Opinion

PEEK, J.

Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting her of four counts of the crime of abortion.

By the amended information, she was charged in count one thereof with the commission of an abortion upon one Agnes on July 3, 1947; count two charged the commission of the same crime upon the same person on a subsequent date, to wit: July 9, 1947; count three charged the commission of an abortion upon one Betty on December 20, 1946; count four charged the commission of an abortion upon one Arlees on July 2, 1947, and count five charged the commission of an abortion upon one Elsie during the month of August, 1946. In addition, said information charged the defendant with the commission of a prior felony (murder in the second degree) and the service of a term of imprisonment therefor in the state prison."

The defendant pleaded not guilty to each count of abortion but admitted the prior conviction. After her motion to dismiss the information was denied the trial proceeded before *450 a jury which returned a verdict of guilty as to counts one, two, three, four, and not guilty as to count five.

Defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied as was her application for probation. The judgment which was thereafter entered ordered that the sentence under count two should run concurrently with the sentence under count one; that the sentence under count three should run consecutively with that imposed under count one, and that the sentence under count four should run consecutively with that under count three.

Her appeal, which does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the verdict, sets forth four contentions, to wit: (1) that she was placed in double jeopardy under counts one and two in that she was charged, tried and convicted twice for the same offense, (2) that the trial court committed error in the giving and refusing of instructions, (3) that the trial judge committed prejudicial error in his rulings on the admissibility of evidence and (4) that the district attorney was guilty of prejudicial misconduct.

Defendant’s argument in support of her first contention is that the crimes charged in counts one and two were in fact but one crime, in that by the testimony of the prosecution witness it was shown that although she received two treatments such treatments were administered with the intent to abort but a single pregnancy, and that therefore she was placed in double jeopardy by being charged and convicted twice for what was but one offense. Such contention is without merit since section 274 of the Penal Code provides that:

“Every person who provides, supplies, or administers to any woman, or procures any woman to take any medicine, drug, or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless the same is necessary to preserve her life, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not less than two or more than five years. ’ ’

It is readily apparent that the gist of the crime is not the actual consummation of an abortion as such but rather it is the performing of any of the acts prohibited by said section with the intent to procure a miscarriage which constitutes the crime of abortion. Therefore despite the fact that the same single pregnancy was involved in counts one and two, nevertheless, as the information charged and the evidence conclusively shows, in each instance there was an “intent to procure” a miscarriage by prohibited means which fact is *451 admitted by counsel for defendant. Consequently the complaint properly charged defendant with the commission of two separate crimes. (See People v. Ramsey, 83 Cal.App.2d 707, 717 [189 P.2d 802].)

We find no merit in appellant’s next contention which is an attack upon certain instructions. It is first contended that the wording of an instruction given by the court concerning corroborating testimony permitted an accomplice to an abortion to corroborate an abortee. In effect such contention is an indirect attack upon the opinion in the case of People v. Clapp, 24 Cal.2d 835 [151 P.2d 237], and, as the court aptly observed in People v. Malone, 82 Cal.App.2d 54 [185 P.2d 870], where a similar question was raised, such an argument “. . . is a question for the Supreme Court. ...” Certainly it is not one for a district court. Additionally it should be noted that one of the instructions so attacked by appellant herein is identical in language with an instruction similarly attacked in People v. Stone, 89 Cal.App.2d 853 [202 P.2d 333], which this court approved, and in which case the Supreme Court denied a hearing.

Appellant’s remaining complaints concerning the instructions are supported by no citations of authority and are wholly without merit. Such complaints relate to the deletion by the trial court of certain words in particular instructions proposed by defendant and the refusal by the court to give other instructions likewise proposed by her.

The rule is too well established to warrant citation that the entire charge to the jury is to be read as a whole in the light of a fair and reasonable construction with each instruction being considered in connection with all of the others and without straining at any particular wording or phraseology.

If, when so read and construed, it reasonably may be said that the alleged error, if it be such, appears to have been cured by the entire charge and that the jury was fully and fairly instructed, it is sufficient to defeat any claim of error predicated upon such a contention.

Appellant further contends that the court erred in admitting the testimony of a policewoman who testified to making arrangements with defendant to abort a purported pregnancy. It is defendant’s complaint that at most this evidence showed only a willingness to commit an offense in the future and can be considered no more than evidence of bad character and thus not admissible under the doctrine that evidence of other crimes may be introduced to show motive, *452 intent, premeditation, malice, or a common plan or scheme, as is contended by respondent. Specifically her testimony closely followed and was similar to that given by each of the abortees in that she testified she called at defendant’s home stating she was pregnant; that defendant told her what the cost would be and named a day for her return, and that the defendant further stated she used only medicines and did not use instruments.

Under the provisions of article VI, section 4% of the Constitution of this state, if, after an examination of the entire record, it cannot be said that the alleged error was not prejudicial and constituted a miscarriage of justice, the judgment may not be reversed on appeal. The record herein discloses abundant uncontradicted evidence in support of the verdict.

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Bluebook (online)
209 P.2d 33, 93 Cal. App. 2d 448, 1949 Cal. App. LEXIS 1401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-rhoades-calctapp-1949.