Opinion ID: 2611155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: gould's appeal

Text: [1] Gould contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict in that he was not adequately identified as the man Mrs. Fenwick saw in her apartment. It is true that Mrs. Fenwick's identification of Gould was inconclusive. Her testimony, however, adequately established that a burglary had been committed. Gould's admissions after his arrest could therefore be used to identify him as one of the burglars ( People v. Amaya, 40 Cal.2d 70, 75-76 [251 P.2d 324]; People v. Mehaffey, 32 Cal.2d 535, 544-545 [197 P.2d 12]; People v. Griffin, 98 Cal. App.2d 1, 46-47 [219 P.2d 519]), and sustain the jury's finding that he participated in the crime. Gould contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence that Mrs. Fenwick identified his photograph shortly after the crime. He asserts that Mrs. Fenwick did not identify him at the trial and that evidence of an extrajudicial identification is admissible only to corroborate an identification made at the trial by the same witness. [2] Mrs. Fenwick testified that Gould had some features but not all of the features of the burglar. She stated that the man who was in my apartment seemed to have  he was a heavy man; he had rather fat cheeks and this man is very thin. Gould testified that after his arrest he became very ill and that he had hernia trouble, but he denied that he had lost weight. Mrs. Fenwick also testified that ... it is awfully hard for me to point to someone after all of this time, saying that that is the person who looks like that person because my memory is rather vague about it now. Although her testimony did not amount to an identification, the evidence of her extrajudicial identification was nevertheless admissible. [3] Evidence of an extrajudicial identification is admissible, not only to corroborate an identification made at the trial ( People v. Slobodion, 31 Cal.2d 555, 560 [191 P.2d 1]), but as independent evidence of identity. [4] Unlike other testimony that cannot be corroborated by proof of prior consistent statements unless it is first impeached ( People v. Hardenbrook, 48 Cal.2d 345, 351 [309 P.2d 424]; People v. Kynette, 15 Cal.2d 731, 753-754 [104 P.2d 794]), evidence of an extrajudicial identification is admitted regardless of whether the testimonial identification is impeached, because the earlier identification has greater probative value than an identification made in the courtroom after the suggestions of others and the circumstances of the trial may have intervened to create a fancied recognition in the witness' mind. ( People v. Slobodion, 31 Cal.2d 555, 559-560 [191 P.2d 1]; United States v. Forzano, 190 F.2d 687, 689; see People v. Hood, 140 Cal. App.2d 585, 588 [295 P.2d 525]; People v. Bennett, 119 Cal. App.2d 224, 226 [259 P.2d 476]; 4 Wigmore, Evidence (3d ed. 1940), § 1130, p. 208.) [5] The failure of the witness to repeat the extrajudicial identification in court does not destroy its probative value, for such failure may be explained by loss of memory or other circumstances. The extrajudicial identification tends to connect the defendant with the crime, and the principal danger of admitting hearsay evidence is not present since the witness is available at the trial for cross-examination. (See Judy v. State, 218 Md. 168, 174-175 [146 A.2d 29, 32-33]; McCormick, Evidence, § 39, p. 74; Morgan, Hearsay Dangers, 62 Harv.L.Rev. 177, 192-193; 3 Wigmore, Evidence (3d ed. 1940), § 1018, pp. 687-688. See also State v. Wilson, 38 Wn.2d 593, 617-618 [231 P.2d 288, 300-301]; People v. Spinello, 303 N.Y. 193, 201-202 [101 N.E.2d 457, 460-461].) Gould contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to declare a mistrial. Officer Cataldi testified that he and other officers arrested Gould at his home on September 5, 1958, at approximately 10 p.m. On cross-examination defense counsel brought out that Gould's wife and her 14-year-old son were taken into custody at the same time, that they were not released until 5 a.m. the next morning, and that no charges were filed against them. By his questions counsel suggested that Gould was aware of their detention and was disturbed by it during the period in which he allegedly admitted committing the burglary. On redirect examination the assistant district attorney asked if there was any reason for arresting Gould's wife and her son. Over defendant's objection the officer replied that a search of Gould's home following his arrest revealed numerous fur pieces. Defendant's motion to strike this answer was granted and the jury was admonished to disregard the answer and any inference to be drawn therefrom. Defendant then moved to declare a mistrial, contending that the prejudicial effect of the officer's testimony could not be cured by a mere admonition. [6] The testimony elicited by defense counsel on cross-examination gave rise to an inference that Gould's wife and her son were improperly detained for the purpose of inducing Gould to confess. [1] The prosecution was entitled to rebut this inference by eliciting a different explanation for their arrest. [7] We assume that the proffered evidence was struck because the trial court found that its prejudicial effect exceeded its probative value. Even on this assumption, however, it does not follow that a mistrial should have been declared. The reference to fur pieces was brief and vague in its implications; it was struck immediately; the jury was admonished to disregard it; and further argument on the point took place out of the jury's hearing. [8] It must be assumed that ordinarily admonitions to the jury are heeded. ( People v. Foote, 48 Cal.2d 20, 23 [306 P.2d 803]; People v. Tarantino, 45 Cal.2d 590, 597-598 [290 P.2d 505]; People v. Dabb, 32 Cal.2d 491, 499 [197 P.2d 1].) [9] A trial court's decision that an error or impropriety can be cured by admonition will not be reversed unless exceptional circumstances make it improbable that the jury obeyed the admonition. (See People v. Foote, 48 Cal.2d 20, 24 [306 P.2d 803]; People v. Zammora, 66 Cal. App.2d 166, 212 [152 P.2d 180].) No such circumstances appear in the present case. [10] Gould asserts that two days before giving the testimony as to fur pieces Officer Cataldi gave similar testimony and that the same trial judge at that time granted defendants' motion to declare a mistrial. Gould contends that the trial court's rulings were inconsistent and that the prosecution committed wilful misconduct in reintroducing testimony previously held inadmissible. At the second trial, however, the testimony was arguably admissible to rebut the inference of impropriety raised by defense counsel. The record of the first trial is not before us and we are not aware of the circumstances preceding the earlier ruling. The trial judge stated that the two situations were not in the same category and did not have the same seriousness. Accordingly, no inconsistency or wilful misconduct appears. Gould contends that his identification as one of the burglars depended chiefly on circumstantial evidence and that the trial court therefore erred in refusing to give certain standard instructions on circumstantial evidence. [2] [11] Since Mrs. Fenwick's identification of Gould was equivocal, proof of his connection with the crime depended on testimony as to his extrajudicial admissions. Such testimony is direct evidence that the admissions were made but indirect evidence of the truth of what was admitted. (Code Civ. Proc., § 1832; People v. Koenig, 29 Cal.2d 87, 91 [173 P.2d 1].) We have concluded, for reasons that appear below, that the requested instructions do not apply to all types of indirect evidence and that they were properly refused in the present case. [12] The requested instructions clarify the application of the general doctrine requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt to a case in which the defendant's guilt must be inferred from a pattern of incriminating circumstances. (See People v. Rayol, 65 Cal. App.2d 462, 465 [150 P.2d 812]; People v. Hatchett, 63 Cal. App.2d 144, 154-155 [146 P.2d 469].) They deal with proof of each fact which is essential to complete a chain of circumstances that will establish the defendant's guilt, the use of evidence susceptible of two constructions or interpretations, and the relationship required between the proved circumstances and possible hypotheses. Such instructions should not be given when the problem of inferring guilt from a pattern of incriminating circumstances is not present. [13] Testimony as to an extrajudicial admission is indirect evidence of the matter admitted because the jurors are called upon not only to believe what is said in court  that the admission was made  but to infer that the admission was true. ( People v. Koenig, 29 Cal.2d 87, 91 [173 P.2d 1].) Thus such testimony is indirect evidence only because it is hearsay. [14] The requested instructions on circumstantial evidence clearly do not refer to the problem of evaluating hearsay. They are unnecessary, and may be misleading, when the jury is to consider only whether the admission was made, and if made, whether it was true. ( People v. Bretagna, 298 N.Y. 323, 326 [83 N.E.2d 537, 538]; see Morgan, Admissions and the Hearsay Rule, 30 Yale L.J. 355, 356-358.) [15] Other jurisdictions agree, though on somewhat different grounds, that the standard instructions on circumstantial evidence are not applicable to evidence of extrajudicial admissions. (Annot., 40 A.L.R. 571; 22 C.J.S., § 530, p. 839, § 816 subsec. a., p. 1422 and Supp. 1960, p. 313; 1 Underhill, Criminal Evidence (5th ed. 1956), § 19, p. 27.) Research has failed to reveal any case from another jurisdiction holding otherwise, except Damas v. People, 62 Colo. 418 [163 P. 289, L.R.A. 1917D 591], which was expressly overruled in Mitchell v. People, 76 Colo. 346 [232 P. 685, 40 A.L.R. 566]. In People v. Koenig, 29 Cal.2d 87 [173 P.2d 1], we noted that section 1832 of the Code of Civil Procedure cites testimony as to an extrajudicial admission as an example of indirect evidence and we concluded that the refusal to give a requested instruction on circumstantial evidence was erroneous. In that case, however, the prosecution relied heavily on proof of incriminating circumstances other than the defendant's alleged admissions. The requested instruction on circumstantial evidence was appropriate there without regard to the testimony as to admissions, since the jury might have believed the defendant's denial that he made the admissions and yet have inferred his guilt from the other incriminating circumstances alone. ( People v. Hatchett, 63 Cal. App.2d 144, 153 [146 P.2d 469]; see People v. Zerillo, 36 Cal.2d 222, 233 [223 P.2d 223]; People v. Simeone, 26 Cal.2d 795, 807 [161 P.2d 369].) Since the statutory definition of indirect evidence includes both hearsay and presumptions (Code Civ. Proc., §§ 1957-1963), to which the requested instructions on circumstantial evidence obviously do not apply, it could not have been its purpose to affect the giving of those instructions. Any statements or implications to the contrary in People v. Koenig, supra , and People v. Candiotto, 128 Cal. App.2d 347 [275 P.2d 500], are disapproved. Gould's contentions are without merit and his conviction must be affirmed.