Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-11-10
The CLOUGH CASE.
Judge sepulvsda's Decision Affirmed BY the
Supreme Court.

The San Francisco Examiner,
under the head IA bew Point The
Numbsr of Challenges Settled"
Published the following in relation
to the decision of the Supreme
Court In the case of the People VS..
Ciough, who was convicted of rob-
berry In JUICE Sepulveds's COURT
1t will be remembered by readers
of the HERALD that Clough, about
8 O'Clock on the night Of the oath
Of last January, robbed F. A. Gage
on Firs, street, just below the cor
ner Of Main. Taking into consid-
Grafton the hour aud the locality,
/; was considered the M ost daring
robbery ever committed In Los
Angeles. From the following it
will be seen that the Supreme
Court sffirms the decision Of Judge
Sepulveda:
Charles P. Clough was arrested
and charged with robbiDg f. A.
Gage of $ll, silver watch and a
bunch Of keys on the Gath of Janu-
a-y, 1851, in Los Angeles county
In April last he was sentenced to
three years at San Quentin. From
this judgment and an order deny.
ing u new trial an appeal was tax.
en-. On the argument of the case
it was commended on behalf of the
defendant and urged as ground of
reversal of Judgment, that no act
of robbery was established by the
evidence. 1t was claimed that one
Utter was associated with the de-
PENDANT in the taking of the prop.
erty, and that there was an u"der-
standing between Gage and Utter
that Gage should meet Utter and
the defendant at an appointed
time and place and go through the
form of being robbed by the de
PENDANT. If the evidence support
ed this theory, the Supreme COURT
says, sit would result that the act
did not constitute the crime chsrg-
ed. Robbiug is the felonious taxi
ing of personal property in the
possession of another from his per-
son and against his will, accom-
piished by force or fear" But the
evidence failed to show that Utter
was party TO the robbery or that
he knew anything about it. The
next ground Of error predicated
upon the refusal OF the Court to
admit evidence OF declarations
made by Utter was not sustained.
The Instructions of the lower Court
were free from all legal objections.
The last point In the case turned
upon the construction to be given
to Section 1910 Of the Penal Code,
which reads as follows: "If the Of
tense charged be punishable with
death, or with prisOnmcnt in
The State Prison for life, the defen-
dant is entitled to twenty and the
State to ten peremptory chal-
lenges. On q trial for any other
tfeuse the defendant is entitled to
ten and the State to Ave perempto-
ry challenges" aud by Section 2l3
of the came Code robbery is pun
ishabie by mprisonment 10 the
State Prison not less than one year.
The defendant had interposed ten
peremptory challenges when the
juror Schmidt was called, and
there being no legal objections to
him as a juror defendant claimed
the right to challenge him peremp-
torily. The Court denied the
right Of the defendant to exercise
more than ten peremptory chai-
lepges. and the juror was accepted
against the objection of defendant.
It was claimed that robbery Is
punishable for life; that the de-
PENDANT was entitled to twenty pc.
remptory challenges. The Su.
preme Court in passing upon the
question says: 1.-THE section in
question has never received d judi.
eisl Interpretation, aud the point
is q new one. We are called upon
to decide it without precedent or
authority to aid US. II the offense
charged Is punishable with Heath
or with imprisonment In the State
Prison for life, the defendant Ia en-
titled to twenty peremptory chal.
lenges. Such Ia the language OF
the section now under considera.
ton. We have reached the con-
clusion that 1t lie only in capital
cases, or cases in which life sen.
tense is in terms affixed by the
Legislature as the punishment OF
the crime, that the defendant Is en-
titled to twenty peremptory chal-
lenges. Robbery is not such a
crime. 1t Ia true that the maxi
mum punishment is not designat-
ed by the statute, but the mini
mum is, and that need not he for a