Court Opinion

ID: 9792216
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:25:15.644236+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:41.199935
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I dissent.
I concur in the views expressed by Mr. Justice Schauer in his dissenting opinion and, in addition, adopt the pertinent portions of the dissenting opinion of Mr. Justice Peek of the District Court of Appeal (Cal.App.) 302 P.2d 371, 385.
“. . . ‘A trial judge is rigorously prohibited from actions or words having the effect of conveying to the jury his personal opinion as to the truth or falsity of any evidence. This rule should be strictly adhered to.’ (People v. O’Donnell, 11 Cal.2d 666 [8l P.2d 939].) . . .
“From my reading of the transcript I cannot escape the conclusion' that from the outset of the trial, by the persistent, aggressive and lengthy cross-examination of the witnesses, the context of the questions asked, the innuendoes contained therein, as well'as the inferences to be drawn therefrom, and what amounted to' voluntary comments contained in such questions, the trial judge definitely stepped out of his character as a judge and took over the role of the prosecutor. And, by such actions and words, he very forcefully conveyed to the jury his personal opinion as to the truth or falsity of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses. Although the majority opinion has quoted much of the extensive and repetitious examination óf the witnesses by the court, it seems to me that only by a reading of the entire transcript can the true effect on the jury of such questioning be evaluated. . . . [T]he interrogation by the court, in addition to the portions quoted in the majority opinion, is replete with such comments and questions as:
*562“ . . You ought to know. You say you were thére . . . You don’t know. You don’t know, is that it? Do you know or don’t you know? What joint were you in . . . you say . . . You guess . . . Now you are telling us. Is that right? And you don’t—didn’t even know his name . . .? Might have been Freddy but you don’t know whether it was Freddy or not, is that right? You just guess it was during April; is that right? You are not sure are you? Are you sure it was in April or you just say it must have been, you guess ? . . . All right, now let me ask you this . . .You don’t remember that very well? You don’t know the date. Was it Saturday night, Sunday night, or do you know ? Have you any idea ? . . . Who said? They said? Who are they?’ . . .
“I cannot agree that the case was strong. The evidence concerning the identification of the two persons who participated in the robbery was entirely circumstantial. The testimony of the bartender and the four bar patrons, some of whom had been at the bar for quite some time, was in complete confusion. Their only agreement was as to what clothing was worn by the two men; that is, the nylon stockings worn as masks, the overcoat, hat and gloves, and the similarity of the gun used with the one introduced at the trial. The defendant herein was never directly identified. His only connection with the robbery was established by reason of the fingerprints being found on the gun and certain conflicting statements made by two of the State’s witnesses concerning comments said to have been made by defendant following two telephone calls to Ash’s landlady. The landlady testified to one version and one of the paroled ex-convicts testified to another, and one which was different from his testimony at the preliminary hearing. Duran, the other ex-convict parolee who was called by the prosecution gave still another version. Again there was conflict as to whether it was Dillon or Corrigan who made statements such as: that the ‘heat was on’ when he was informed that Ash was in jail; that he hoped that Ash had enough sense to do something with the box the police were said to have found; that there were stockings, gloves and other stuff in the box and fingerprints all over it. Corrigan denied that it was he who made such statements. But even assuming that he did, I do not consider such comment can be interpreted either as an admission on his part of participation in the robbery or as an identification of the gun. No incriminating evidence was found in the possession of Corrigan. The box was found in the attic of Ash’s apartment. The fingerprints *563found on the gun were not so placed as they would have been had the gun been held in a normal position. It was Corrigan’s testimony that his fingerprints were left on the gun when he was asked to examine it at the police station. All of the witnesses testified that the robber who held the gun wore gloves at the time of the robbery. Thus the fingerprints must have been placed on the gun either before or after the robbery. The most that was said concerning the gun, by any of the witnesses, was merely that it was similar to the gun used at the time of the robbery.
“. . . a trial is not a game in which the judge can only act as an umpire, and ‘sit quietly by and see one wrongfully acquitted or unjustly punished.’ (People v. Golsh, 63 Cal.App. 609, 614-615 [219 P. 456].) But it is equally true that he must not become a partisan advocate. Therefore when, during the examination of the witnesses, a court by words or actions departs from the role of an impartial judge and conveys to the jury ‘his personal opinion as to the truth or falsity of any evidence’ (11 Cal.2d 666, 671) and it could well be added, of the credibility of any witness, he has by so doing placed himself without the bounds of article VI, section 19.
“No one will deny that jurors are most sensitive to and rely with great confidences on the fairness of judges and the correctness of their views expressed during the course of a trial. ‘For this reason, and too strong emphasis cannot be laid on the admonition, a judge should be careful not to throw the weight of his judicial position into a case, either for or against a defendant.’ (People v. Mahoney, 201 Cal. 618, 627 [258 P. 607] ; People v. O’Donnell, 11 Cal.2d 666 [81 P.2d 939].)
“Conviction or acquittal may equally be the result of a miscarriage of justice. In either event a fundamental right of the People or of the defendant has been disregarded or denied. It is an essential part of justice that the question of guilt or innocence shall be determined by an orderly legal procedure, in which the substantial rights belonging both to the People and the defendant shall be respected. (People v. Long, 63 Cal.App.2d 679 [147 P.2d 659].)
“The situation as presented by the record before this court . . . convinces me that to approve the . . . error in this case is to deny a fair, impartial trial to the defendant and to extend the saving grace of section 4% just a bit too far.”
I would reverse the judgment and grant defendant a new trial.