Court Opinion

ID: 9576151
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:21:15.629019+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:00:53.571512
License: Public Domain

CARTER, J.
I dissent.
In his first inaugural address (March 4, 1801) Thomas J efferson declared: 11 Equal and exact justice to all men . . . freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus; and trial by juries impartially selected,—these principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us.” This declaration was predicated on the Bill of Rights adopted ten years previous which is the foundation of the American tradition that every person charged with the commission of a public offense shall *522be accorded a fair and impartial trial. In my opinion the preservation of that tradition is of greater importance in the perpetuation of the American way of life than any other principle postulated by that immortal document.
There can be no doubt that this tradition has been desecrated by the conduct of the trial judge and the prosecutor in this case. Such conduct, as disclosed by the record and set forth in the majority opinion, could have no other effect than to deprive the defendants of every semblance of a fair and impartial trial. Conceding that evidence of the guilt of the defendants may be overwhelming, I can see no other conclusion than that they were denied a fair and impartial trial and that article VI, section 4%, of the Constitution of California cannot be construed to uphold a verdict and judgment rendered in such an atmosphere of prejudice and unfairness.
I would therefore reverse the judgments and grant each of the defendants a new trial.