People v. Williams

178 Cal. App. 2d 426, 2 Cal. Rptr. 816, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 2612
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in People v. Williams. Read the opinion of the Court — 164 Cal. App. Supp. 2d 858
California Court of Appeal·Decided February 25, 1960·No. Crim. No. 2933·Published

Opinion

VAN DYKE, P. J.

These are appeals from judgments entered upon jury verdicts which found appellants guilty of burglary in the second degree and of grand theft. Appellant Williams has filed no brief. Although both Rushing and Krolikowski applied for and received the assistance of court-appointed counsel, Williams requested no assistance and has not responded to notice that his appeal would be dismissed unless his brief was filed. His appeal must be dismissed.

Counsel for Rushing and Krolikowski do not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdicts. As to both appellants it is contended that the jury was prejudicially influenced against appellants by the trial court, and that the court erred in admitting evidence of another crime. It is further contended as to appellant Rushing that his cause was prejudiced by misconduct of the district attorney.

The first alleged instance of judicial misconduct occurred in the examination of a witness, George Grundy, who testified for the prosecution, and who admittedly had received immunity. His testimony showed that he was criminally involved in the theft of tractor parts from Sierra Tractor and Equipment Company in Redding, whose premises had been burglarized. After Grundy’s examination in chief, and after his cross-examination had been completed, he was reexamined on direct. On recross he was asked if he had ever been convicted of a felony. The court stated that it would make an objection that the impeaching question was not recross examination and would make the objection even if the district attorney did not. The district attorney stated that he desired the witness be allowed to answer the question. The witness then said that he had never been convicted of a felony “that I know of.” The court then asked him if he had ever been sent to prison and the witness answered he had not. Since the witness substantially answered the impeaching question no prejudice could have resulted from the court’s statement.

The next incident refers to a time toward the close of the case when the court excused the jury and stated to counsel that some of the jurors had asked him some questions [429]*429about evidence and he wanted to inform counsel about the matter; that one juror wanted to know what appellant Rushing had said about being ordered to go to Weaverville to pay a $250 fine and who had ordered him to go; that another question asked was what Rushing’s testimony had been concerning a period of time he spent in Sacramento, the reference being to something Rushing had said about phoning his home although he didn’t go there; that other jurors had asked the whereabouts of one Jeneeke, a man who had been referred to frequently in the testimony, and whether or not he was going to be a witness. The court asked counsel if there was any question concerning these matters and sug-gested that if so the doubt should be cleared up. A discussion then occurred between the court and counsel as to what might be done to clear up the uncertainties in the minds of the jurors. Concerning these matters appellants assert that there was thus disclosed an opportunity for the court to have influenced the jury outside the courtroom. Nothing that occurred would suggest that the court took the opportunity to say anything that might influence the jury one way or another and it appears from the record that trial counsel for appellants were not disturbed. The incident does not appear to have been mentioned during new trial proceedings which were taken by all of the defendants. We cannot assume from what transpired that there was any misconduct whatever.

Finally, appellants argue that the court acted unfairly in discussing the forms of verdict with the jury. The court first read to the jury a form of verdict to be used to declare guilt, saying, as to the opposite form of verdict, that it was the same as the first save that the word “not” appeared in front of the word “guilty.” We find no merit in this contention. A similar one was made and ruled against in People v. Hayes, 161 Cal.App.2d 129 [326 P.2d 169], It is presumed and ought to be presumed that members of a jury were possessed of intelligence and would not conclude from what was said that the court was suggesting they ought to bring in a guilty verdict.

It is urged that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a different crime than that for which appellants were being prosecuted. Appellants were convicted of having entered the premises of the Sierra Tractor and Equipment Company in Redding, California, during the early morning hours of January 28, 1958, and of having stolen tractor parts. [430]*430The evidence that these crimes were committed was direct and complete, but the evidence that it was the appellants who had committed the crimes was entirely circumstantial. One Bridges, who had been active in the disposal of the property taken, and who thereafter had suffered an accident of such nature that at the time of the trial he was awaiting medical and surgical treatment, was called as a witness by the prosecution at the beginning of the trial somewhat out of order because of his having to report for treatment. He related that on the day after the burglary in Bedding the three defendants and Grundy were all in Shatter, a small town in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley, and had negotiated with him for a sale of tractor parts, which had been transported there in pickup trucks driven by defendants; that Grundy first came to him and suggested that Bridges buy; that Bridges refused because of a dislike for Bushing. Bridges went on to describe the correlated activities of the group, including arrangements made by him with his son-in-law for storing some of the parts. Prom his testimony and other testimony it appeared that Grundy took some of the parts to Saratoga, in the Santa Clara Valley, and sold them. Bridges related that on the 29th of January, in the morning, Grundy returned from Saratoga and he and Bridges and the three defendants were together again; that he saw them again on the 30th of January; that Grundy was there and gave them money; that Bushing left on the evening of the 30th; that on the 31st he, Bridges, went to the home of his son-in-law because Grundy had called him and said that ‘1 they got picked up with those rollers ’ ’ and that he, Bridges, ought to get the “stuff out”; that he had taken all of the parts that were at his son-in-law’s home and laid them on a ditch bank on the Taft-Marieopa highway around 30 miles from Shatter. Up to this point Bridges had not mentioned the subject of tractor parts taken, as was later developed, from an equipment place in Bakersfield during the night of January 30th. He testified that after Grundy returned from Saratoga he had given him blank cheeks; that he did not know what parts were involved or what parts Grundy was going to buy with the checks and he further said that the checks had been given Grundy “after the parts deal” and that they were given on the “roller deal, not on the parts.” When asked if he did not consider that rollers were also parts, he replied, “Well, they wasn’t parts that came from Sierra Tractor. ’ ’ He said the checks had been given for parts different from those that came from Sierra Tractor and that the [431]*431Sierra Tractor parts had nothing to do with the checks given by him to Grundy. Counsel for defendant Williams who was cross-examining moved that all Bridges’ testimony relating to anything not included in the Sierra Tractor burglary be stricken, including testimony about some checks he gave Grundy.

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

People v. Williams, 178 Cal. App. 2d 426, 2 Cal. Rptr. 816, 1960 Cal. App. LEXIS 2612 (Cal. Ct. App. 1960).

178 Cal. App. 2d 426 (People v. Williams) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

People v. Hayes
326 P.2d 169 (California Court of Appeal, 1958)