Court Opinion

ID: 9728141
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 13:59:38.207451+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:25:46.148351
License: Public Domain

SIMS, J.
I concur in the decision that the judgment must be reversed. I believe that the cross-examination of the defendant concerning the incident of July 13, 1970, when she attacked her friend Fred Saffiatti in Los Angeles with a knife, was proper. In People v. Schader (1969) 71 Cal.2d 761 [80 Cal.Rptr. 1, 457 P.2d 841] the court upheld cross-examination concerning a prior offense which was designed to and which elicited material evidence which rebutted the accused’s testimony that he was not actively participating in the robbery in which the homicide occurred, and his assertion that the killing occurred accidentally. (71 Cal.2d at p. 777. Cf. People v. Sims (1959) 165 Cal.App.2d 108, 110-115 [331 P.2d 799], cited but distinguished in People v. Schader, supra, 71 Cal.2d at pp. 769-771.)
Nevertheless there was error in permitting this cross-examination because of the court’s earlier rulings. At the close of the prosecution’s case the prosecutor made the following offer of proof concerning both an assault on, and the murder of, the defendant’s former boy friend: “. . . First of all, Your Honor, we would show that on July the 13th of 1970 the defendant in this action under the name of Veronica Villarus was acquainted with and a friend of Mr. Fred Saffiotti and there was a relationship between the two prior to that date of July the 13th of 1970. Now, we would show that on this date of July the 13th of 1970 Veronica Bagwell came to the apartment of Mr. Fred Saffiotti and when Mr. Saffiotti in fact left his home after she had attempted to gain access to the house, she produced a knife, a twelve inch butcher knife, from within her coat that she was wearing and attempted to cut the victim Mr. Saffiotti. Saffiotti at this time grabbed her arm which held the butcher knife and hollered out for help. Now, a Mr. Larry Baca who is under subpoena would testify that he heard the cries for help, he looked out his window and observed the defendant Mrs. Bagwell in possession of the butcher knife; that he went out of his apartment downstairs and took the knife away from Mrs. Bagwell,—Mrs. Villarus—but the defendant in this action. At that time the police were called and Mrs. Villarus was arrested *142for violation of Section 245 of the Penal Code and taken down to police headquarters.” With respect to the murder there was an offer to show that the victim of the first offense was last seen alive on the evening of July 31, 1970, and found stabbed to death on the early evening of August 2, 1970, and that the defendant had returned to her room at 5 a.m. on August 1, 1970, packed and left, and never communicated with her roommate again except to phone her and tell her to move out.
The court made the ruling, set forth in the majority opinion, that it would exclude the direct evidence, although it might be material to show intent, malice, or premeditation, because its probative value was outweighed by its possible prejudicial effect. Counsel for the defendant then pressed the court for a ruling as to whether cross-examination would be permitted on those matters. He stated: “There’s the dilemma she faces. Is she going to be forced into a position where she may have to decide not to take the witness stand to defend herself as to these charges because she’s going to be subjected to cross-examination on the Los Angeles charges in what we could consider to be in violation of her rights as to those charges, that’s the box she’s in.” The court, after listening to argument, indicated, “I will have to wait to see how it develops. I can’t rule in a vacuum but we’ve discussed the cases ... as far as her questions are concerned, we’ll proceed cautiously and you should get a ruling from the Court before we get into an area that may be within this orbit that we’ve just discussed so after the direct examination if you feel there’s any area you can go into, [the prosecutor], then we should either by approaching the bench or in some other way have some discussion as to what the limitations might or might not be. . . . We’ll see how the testimony develops on her direct examination. It’s the only way they could reach a decision in these other cases.”
On this record the defendant may have been lulled into a sense of security that the court would adhere to its original ruling with respect to the direct evidence, insofar as nothing was raised by the defendant concerning the prior incidents. It is for this reason that I would reverse the judgment. If advised that the court would rule as it did, the defendant might well have refrained from testifying. Without either the defendant’s explanation, or the prejudicial, although otherwise proper cross-examination, the jury might well have found the defendant guilty of manslaughter rather than second degree murder.
Defendant’s victory may be pyrrhic. Another judge in another court may admit the direct evidence of the July 13, 1970 stabbing. The circumstantial nature of the evidence concerning the homicide in Los Angeles *143tends to lessen its probative effect, but if in the interim it rose to the level of a prior conviction, People v. Schader, supra, would indicate that the details could be used to show the motive and intent in connection with the instant offense.
A petition for a rehearing was denied April 17, 1974, and respondent’s petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied May 22, 1974. McComb, J., Burke, J., and Clark, J., were of the opinion that the petition should be granted.