People v. Warren

219 Cal. App. 2d 723, 33 Cal. Rptr. 552, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2429
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 3, 1963
DocketCrim. 1791
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 219 Cal. App. 2d 723 (People v. Warren) 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. Warren, 219 Cal. App. 2d 723, 33 Cal. Rptr. 552, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2429 (Cal. Ct. App. 1963).

Opinion

COUGHLIN, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment committing Elwood Lee Warren to the Department of Mental Hygiene, for an indeterminate period, as a sexual psychopath, and from orders denying his motions (1) for a new trial in the sexual psychopathy proceedings; (2) for a copy of the transcript at the expense of the county; (3) for admission to bail pending appeal; and (4) for a stay of execution pending appeal.

The order denying the motion for a new trial was not appealable. (Code Civ. Proc., § 963.) The appeal from the order denying the motion to furnish a copy of the transcript at the expense of the county has been abandoned. No contention with respect thereto is urged. The appeal from the orders denying the motions for admission to bail and for stay of execution pending appeal may be deemed to have been waived because, even though referred to in appellant’s brief, no contention, argument, or authorities in support of their reversal have been presented. (People v. Hite, 134 Cal.App.2d 536, 537 [286 P.2d 425].) Under these circumstances the appeal from the orders should be dismissed.

Elwood Lee Warren, the defendant and appellant herein, was convicted of the offense of indecent exposure, viz., a violation of section 311 of the Penal Code; was certified by the municipal court before which he had been tried to the Superior Court of San Bernardino County as a probable sexual psychopath; was the subject of sexual psychopathy proceedings thereafter conducted in the latter court; was found to be a sexual psychopath; was ordered placed temporarily at Atascadero State Hospital for observation and diagnosis pursuant to the provision of section 5512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; was diagnosed as a sexual psychopath by the superintendent of that hospital and returned to the superior court for further proceedings; was adjudged a sexual psychopath by that court and committed for an indeterminate period to the Department of Mental Hygiene for placement in Atascadero State Hospital; demanded a trial by jury as authorized by section 5512.5 of the Welfare and Institutions *727 Code; was found to be a sexual psychopath by a jury after trial; again was committed as a sexual psychopath for an indeterminate period pursuant to the law in the premises; and, as noted, appeals from the judgment so entered.

The grounds for appeal are multiple; are scattered through appellant’s brief; and are not separately stated under appropriate headings nor indexed as required by rule 15 of the California Rules of Court. * However, as authorized by rule 18, ** rather than order the brief stricken, we are disregarding the defects and considering it as properly prepared.

The defendant and appellant contends, in substance, that the judgment should be reversed because: (1) The finding of the municipal court of probable cause for believing that he was an alleged sexual psychopath, as is required by section 5501 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, was based on surmise, conjecture, and hearsay, and rests on suspicion; (2) the notice of hearing prescribed by section 5503 of the Welfare and Institutions Code was not mailed to his relatives living in San Bernardino County; (3) he was not observed for a 90-day period as required by section 5512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; (4) the evidence is insufficient to support the judgment; (5) the court erred in refusing to give instructions; and (6) the court also erred in the admission of evidence.

After the defendant had been convicted of the offense of indecent exposure and prior to imposition of sentence, the probation officer filed a report showing that on three prior occasions he had been arrested and convicted for loitering in women’s rest rooms in a park, service station and college, respectively; had been charged with the offense of indecent exposure on two prior occasions which culminated in dismissals thereof although he admitted to the police his guilt with respect to one of these offenses. This evidence was sufficient to support the conclusion of the judge of the municipal court that there was probable cause for believing the defendant to be a sexual psychopath and certifying him for hearing and examination by the superior court, as provided by law. The fact that the evidence which supports this conclusion was furnished through the report of a probation officer, and was hearsay, did not affect its legality. In making his determination the judge was required to con *728 sider all of the facts and circumstances disclosed through the proceeding before him. (Generally see: People v. Gomez, 41 Cal.2d 150, 159 [258 P.2d 825]; People v. Puter, 85 Cal.App.2d 348, 350 [193 P.2d 23].) Furthermore, the judgment at bar rests upon the evidence adduced in the superior court proceeding, and not upon that before the municipal court. (People v. McAffery, 182 Cal.App.2d 486, 492 [6 Cal.Rptr. 333]; In re Northcott, 71 Cal.App. 281, 283 [235 P. 458].) Therefore, the sufficiency of the evidence to support the order of certification is not of current legal consequence.

The provisions of section 5503 of the Welfare and Institutions Code with respect to the giving of notice to relatives direct only that notice of the sexual psychopathy hearing should be served upon the district attorney, and on such relatives of the person certified for examination “known to be residing in the county as the judge deems necessary or proper.” There is no showing that there were any known relatives of the defendant residing in the County of San Bernardino. Moreover, the giving of notice is a matter committed to the exercise of a sound legal discretion by the trial court. The order in question provided that no notice be given to any of the defendant’s relatives. The record does not support a conclusion that the making of this order constituted an abuse of discretion.

The contention that the instant proceedings are defective because the defendant was not observed for a 90-day period is without even a semblance of merit. Section 5512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code directs placement of the sexual psychopath in a state hospital of the Department of Mental Hygiene for observation and diagnosis “for a period not to exceed 90 days,” and that the superintendent of such hospital shall make a report to the court respecting his diagnosis and recommendation “within the 90-day period.” (Italics ours.) Obviously, these provisions impose a limitation upon the time within which the report in question shall be made, rather than a requirement directing observation of the sexual psychopath for that time, as contended by the defendant.

The contention that the evidence is insufficient to support the judgment is directed to an attack upon the acceptability of the opinion of the psychiatrists who testified that the defendant was a sexual psychopath, and to a claim that the

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Bluebook (online)
219 Cal. App. 2d 723, 33 Cal. Rptr. 552, 1963 Cal. App. LEXIS 2429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-warren-calctapp-1963.