People v. Tomita

260 Cal. App. 2d 88, 66 Cal. Rptr. 739, 1968 Cal. App. LEXIS 1827
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 14, 1968
DocketCrim. 13831
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 260 Cal. App. 2d 88 (People v. Tomita) 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. Tomita, 260 Cal. App. 2d 88, 66 Cal. Rptr. 739, 1968 Cal. App. LEXIS 1827 (Cal. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

FOURT, J.

—This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction of possession of marijuana.

In an information filed in Los Angeles on November 16, 1966, defendant was charged in count 1 with possessing marijuana on October 16, 1966, and in count 2 with possessing marijuana on October 16, 1966, while in the Los Angeles County jail. Defendant was found guilty in a jury trial as charged in count 1 and not guilty of the charge as stated in count 2. Defendant was sentenced to the state prison.

A résumé of some of the facts is as follows: On October 16, 1966, Deputy Sheriff Robert E. Payne was security officer on duty at the second floor infirmary of the Los Angeles County jail. That afternoon defendant was brought up in the elevator to be admitted to the infirmary, and Officer Payne instructed him to change his clothes in an adjacent room. Officer Payne, standing in the hallway some 15 or 20 feet away observed defendant through a well-lighted open doorway. He saw defendant, while changing his clothes, make a furtive movement as though removing from his mouth some object which he then placed in an empty cigarette carton on the table before him. This movement aroused the watching officer’s suspicion and he requested that defendant submit to a search of his belongings. Among defendant’s possessions Officer Payne found -what appeared to be a slightly curved, moist marijuana cigarette, distinguishable from the other cigarettes in the carton because the paper wrapping had a yellow tinge. Officer *91 Payne promptly advised defendant that he had the right to remain silent, that anything he might say could be used against him in court, that he had the right to have his own private attorney, and that if he was indigent a county public defender would be contacted on his behalf. The next day Officer Raymond Velasquez similarly advised defendant of his constitutional rights. Both officers testified that defendant indicated that he understood these admonitions.

Defendant was arraigned on the charges October 18, 1966, and on that morning he summoned Officer Payne to his jail cell to inquire of him what event had prompted his search. Officer Payne described the suspicious movement which he had observed defendant make and then asked how he had gotten the marijuana cigarette into the jail. Defendant said that he had smuggled it in through the booting process when he was being admitted to jail.

The foregoing testimony was introduced by the prosecution. Counsel stipulated that the cigarette introduced into evidence contained marijuana. Defense counsel called no witnesses and appellant did not testify.

Appellant now contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the judgment, that certain evidence was improperly received, that he was not correctly advised of his constitutional rights, that ho was deprived of his right to the aid of counsel, and that he was prejudiced in several minor respects. There is no merit to appellant’s contentions. Where the findings of the trier of fact are supported by evidence in the record, the appellate court should not reverse the judgment. (People v. Widener, 220 Cal.App.2d 826, 829 [34 Cal.Rptr. 130].) The possession of a narcotic drug and knowledge of its narcotic qualities may be established by circumstantial evidence. (People v. Powell, 236 Cal.App.2d 881, 883 [46 Cal. Rptr. 415].) Officer Payne’s uncontroverted testimony clearly established that appellant furtively removed the cigarette from his mouth and placed it in the carton containing his personal belongings, from which appellant's knowledge of the illicit character of the cigarette may be inferred. Unquestionably, the bent, moist marijuana cigarette resting in the cigarette carton on the table directly in front of appellant at the time of the search was under his possession and control. His admission that he smuggled the cigarette into the jail further supported his conviction. (People v. McGlory, 226 Cal.App.2d 762, 766 [38 Cal.Rptr. 373].)

Appellant objected to the introduction of the admis *92 sion he made to -Officer Payne and he contends that his motion to strike this testimony was improperly denied, because he was not adequately advised of his constitutional rights. (People v. Dorado, 62 Cal.2d 338 [42 Cal.Rptr. 169, 398 P.2d 361]; Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 [16 L.Ed.2d 694, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 10 A.L.R.3d 974].) Appellant, however, was on several occasions advised of the full extent of his constitutional rights and thereafter initiated a conversation with Officer Payne. Only when a defendant who is under custody and surveillance is subjected to interrogation calculated to elicit incriminating statements without being advised of his constitutional rights are his statements rendered inadmissible. “Any statement given freely and voluntarily without any compelling influences is, of course, admissible in evidence. The fundamental import of the privilege while an individual is in custody is not whether he is allowed to talk to the police without the benefit of warnings and counsel, but whether he can be interrogated. There is no requirement that police stop ... a person who calls the police to offer a confession or any other statement he desires to make.” (Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. 436, 478 [16 L.Ed.2d 694, 725].) Where adequate protective devices have been employed to dispel the compulsion inherent in custodial surroundings, the police are not precluded from using any voluntary statements made by a defendant in custody.

Officer Payne was in a position to testify to circumstances sufficient to support appellant’s conviction before the admission was made. When appellant felt impelled to discuss the events, Officer Payne naturally, but without coercion, pursued the conversation with his question. “ [T]he questioning was initiated by defendant, and the [defendant’s] statement was volunteered in response to a neutral inquiry invited by defendant's own remarks; . . . the conduct of the police was neither intimidating nor accusatory, nor did it appear in any way designed to elicit incriminating statements; ...” (People v. Treloar, 64 Cal.2d 141, 147 [49 Cal.Rptr. 100, 410 P.2d 620].) Although Officer Payne did not once again directly admonish appellant of his constitutional rights at the time appellant made his admission, there is no reason to assume that appellant had already forgotten the admonitions of the preceding day. (People v. Hill, 66 Cal.2d 536 [58 Cal.Rptr. 340, 426 P.2d 908]; People v. Lookadoo, 66 Cal.2d 307 [57 Cal.Rptr. 608, 425 P.2d 208].) The court was justified in determining, upon the evidence, that appellant intelligently waived his constitutional rights, as it was his prerogative to *93 do. (Johnson v. Zerbst,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Frank C.
138 Cal. App. 3d 708 (California Court of Appeal, 1982)
State v. Taylor
343 A.2d 11 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1975)
State v. Hatton
522 P.2d 64 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1974)
People v. Stephenson
517 P.2d 820 (California Supreme Court, 1974)
People v. Daniels
1 Cal. App. 3d 367 (California Court of Appeal, 1969)
People v. Ferguson
1 Cal. App. 3d 68 (California Court of Appeal, 1969)
People v. Sunday
275 Cal. App. 2d 473 (California Court of Appeal, 1969)
People v. Brashier
271 Cal. App. 2d 298 (California Court of Appeal, 1969)
People v. Ireland
450 P.2d 580 (California Supreme Court, 1969)
People v. Prince
268 Cal. App. 2d 398 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Shaw
267 Cal. App. 2d 679 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Stokley
266 Cal. App. 2d 930 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Lantz
265 Cal. App. 2d 5 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Matthews
264 Cal. App. 2d 557 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
People v. Fioritto
441 P.2d 625 (California Supreme Court, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
260 Cal. App. 2d 88, 66 Cal. Rptr. 739, 1968 Cal. App. LEXIS 1827, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-tomita-calctapp-1968.