Majority
Headnote
[1] Jury—Appointment of Elisor—Power of Court.—In the absence of the disqualification of both the sheriff and coroner, the court has no power to appoint an elisor to summon a jury.The penalty of death was the sentence imposed upon the defendant in this case, in keeping with the verdict of a jury finding him guilty of murder in the first degree. Edwin Taylor, the deceased, was a familiar character about the streets of Fresno, commonly known as “the old broom man,” who had accumulated considerable wealth and was reputed to be in the habit of secreting large sums of money about his person. On May 16, 1919, his body was found in a tractor-shed on the Gibson ranch, a lonely place about twelve miles north of Fresno. About 8 o’clock, or some time between the hours of 8 and 10, on the morning of May 16th, a number of witnesses saw deceased riding in the direction of this ranch and clearly remembered the incident, for it was unusual to see the old broom man in an automobile. Several of these witnesses identified the defendant as the man who was driving the machine in which deceased was riding, and their descriptions of the automobile corresponded in important particulars with the description of a machine rented by defendant on May 15th and returned by him on the afternoon of the following day. Two men, one of whom was the owner of the orchard and .the other his assistant, were working in an orchard at a point slightly over a quarter of a mile from the tractor-shed on
Upon this appeal from the judgment it is conceded by counsel for the defendant, as indeed it must be, that the evidence adduced in behalf of the people’s case sufficiently supports the judgment. It is earnestly urged, however, that certain alleged erroneous rulings of the trial court, coupled with the claimed misconduct of the district attorney and an asserted irregularity in the summoning of the jury, were so grievously prejudicial in their operation and effect as to warrant and compel a reversal of the judgment, despite the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict.
Error is assigned in the appointment by the trial court of an elisor to summon two special venires of jurors. In this behalf the record shows positively and unqualifiedly that counsel for the defendant, in response to the suggestion of the trial court, conceded the disqualification of the sheriff of the county to act in the matter of summoning the needed jurors and the consequent necessity for the appointment of an elisor. The record further shows that counsel for the defendant expressly consented to the appointment of a Mr. Harkness as an elisor in the place and stead of the sheriff for the purpose of summoning the required jurors, and specifically declared: “The defendant is perfectly satisfied with the appointment of Mr. Harkness as elisor.” This was done, so the record shows, in order to obviate any objection which might be made to the sheriff summoning the jury because of his conceded disqualification to act in the premises. Thereupon an order was made directing the elisor to summon a special venire of fifty jurors, and, when that venire was exhausted, a second order was made, also
[1] An elisor may be defined to be a person designated and directed by a court to summon a jury when the persons designated by law for that duty are disqualified from acting. (Code Civ. Proc., sec. 226; Bruner v. Superior Court, 92 Cal. 239 , [ 28 Pac. 341 ].) In the absence of the disqualification of both the sheriff and coroner, the court has no power to appoint an elisor. (Wilson v. Roach, 4 Cal. 362 ; People v. Fellows, 122 Cal. 233 , [ 54 Pac. 830 ]; People v. Vasquez, 9 Cal. App. 545 , [ 99 Pac. 982 ].) Ordinarily, before appointing an elisor, the court should require a formal showing that both the sheriff and the coroner are disqualified (Bruner v. Superior Court, supra; People v. Irwin, 77 Cal. 494 , [ 20 Pac. 56 ]; People v. Yeaton, 75 Cal. 415 , [ 17 Pac. 544 ]), nevertheless it is the duty of the court to determine, of its own motion if need be, whether the sheriff and coroner are disqualified, and, if it be conceded that both are disqualified, an elisor must be appointed. (People v. Le Doux, 155 Cal. 535 , [ 102 Pac. 517 ].) Generally speaking, the constitutional right to trial by jury cannot be waived by the defendant, or his counsel, in a felony case, but the manner and method of summoning a jury is the subject matter of legislative control rather than of constitutional provision. That is to say, it is the province of the legislature, subject to the proviso that the fundamental requirement of impartiality be not violated, to prescribe the procedure and designate the officer for the summoning of a jury. (People
[4] Nor is the action of the trial court in placing the jury in charge of a deputy sheriff, when it retired to deliberate upon its verdict, a ground for the reversal of the
[6] It was not error to admit in evidence the pistol and bag of clothing found at the time of defendant’s arrest near the spot where he was taken into custody. The fact that a
[9] Turning to the comments of the district attorney during the course of his argument to the jury, claimed to have been so far afield as to constitute formidable misconduct on his part, the reference to defendant as “the known associate of prisoners in the jail” was not entirely without support in the evidence. The fact was brought out upon the examination and cross-examination of defendant, as well as by other witnesses for the defense, that, on the afternoon of the day of the murder, defendant went to the jail for the purpose of seeing a friend who was then held as a prisoner, and that another of his associates had been in prison shortly before that. time. [10] A district attorney has the right, in his argument to the jury, to draw any inferences from the testimony which, in his judgment, are logical. (People v. Vaughn, 25 Cal. App. 736 , [ 147 Pac. 116 ].) The book of entries of employment introduced for the purpose of proving defendant’s whereabouts on May 19, 1919, concerning which the district attorney stated that the judge “in his generosity, permitted this to be introduced here,” was a doubtful piece of evidence at best. The owner of the book, being himself incapable of reading or writing, caused the dates of employment to be entered by men in his employment and he was himself unable to attest the correctness thereof; the man who made the particular entry was neither produced nor accounted for at the trial. The remark was, therefore, not wholly without justification. Moreover, upon defendant’s counsel objecting to the remark, the district attorney immediately added the qualification “because he [the trial judge] wanted to give every possible opportunity for the defendant to prove anything that might
On direct examination defendant testified, as previously stated, that he visited a friend in the jail on the afternoon of May 16th. Upon cross-examination, the district attorney asked if this friend, and another associate of defendant, “were both charged with the crime of robbery at the time.” The court sustained an objection to this question and, in
After a careful review of the evidence adduced upon the whole case, we are of the opinion that the verdict found by the jury was not the result of prejudice and was uninfluenced by any of the errors or irregularities complained of. (People v. Lawlor, 21 Cal. App. 63 , [ 131 Pac. 63 ].)
The judgment is affirmed.
Sloane, J., Lawlor, J., Shaw, J., Angellotti, C. J., Olney, J., and Wilbur, J., concurred.
Rehearing denied.
All the Justices concurred, except Sloane, J., who was absent.
Cases cited
- Bruner v. Superior Court 92 Cal. 239 p. 110
- Wilson v. Roach 4 Cal. 362 p. 110
- People v. Fellows 122 Cal. 233 p. 110
- People v. Vasquez 9 Cal. App. 545 p. 110
- People v. Irwin 77 Cal. 494 p. 110
- People v. Yeaton 75 Cal. 415 p. 110
- People v. Le Doux 155 Cal. 535 p. 110
- Hildreth v. City of Troy 101 N. Y. 234 p. 111
- People v. Coffman 24 Cal. 230 p. 111
- People v. Compton 132 Cal. 484 p. 111
- People v. White 20 Cal. App. 156 p. 111
- People v. Enwright 134 Cal. 527 p. 112
- People v. Schmitz 7 Cal. App. 330 p. 112
- People v. Tarm Poi 86 Cal. 225 p. 113
- Dreyer v. Illinois 187 U. S. 71 p. 113
- People v. Kramer 117 Cal. 647 p. 113
- Queenan v. Oklahoma 190 U. S. 548 p. 113
- People v. Mar Gin Suie 11 Cal. App. 42 at 50 p. 114
- People v. Fitzgerald 138 Cal. 39 p. 114
- People v. Argentos 156 Cal. 720 at 726 p. 114
- People v. Rogers 71 Cal. 565 p. 114
- People v. McGilver 67 Cal. 55 p. 114
- People v. Walters 98 Cal. 138 p. 114
- People v. Ebanks 117 Cal. 652 p. 114
- People v. Vaughn 25 Cal. App. 736 p. 115
- People v. Raber 168 Cal. 316 p. 116
- People v. McGungill 41 Cal. 429 p. 116
- People v. Derwae 155 Cal. 592 p. 116
- People v. Shears 133 Cal. 154 at 159 p. 116
- People v. Babcock 160 Cal. 537 p. 116
- People v. Wong Hing 176 Cal. 699 p. 116
- People v. Warr 22 Cal. App. 663 p. 116
- People v. Lawlor 21 Cal. App. 63 p. 117