People v. Scorza

[572]

ASHBURN, J.

Defendant was found giiilty as charged hy way of indictment filed by the grand jury accusing her and one Martin Ramirez of violation of section 11500 of the Health and Safety Code, to wit, selling, furnishing and giving away a narcotic, marijuana. It is claimed that the evidence is insufficient to sustain the judgment of conviction.

The witnesses before the grand jury were Officer Hassell and a forensic chemist. A jury trial was waived and it was stipulated that the trial court could read and consider the transcript of the testimony before the grand jury, also the transcript of a recorded conversation of appellant and certain police officers taken at the police building immediately following her arrest.

Officer Hassell testified that at 12:05 a.m. on March 8, 1958, he was at a place called Green’s Gardens at 9716 South Broadway talking to a person known to him as Martin R. Ramirez about getting some marijuana. A man and his wife entered Green’s Gardens. Officer Hassell had seen the couple before and they were known to him as Ben and Irene Scorza (appellant). They sat down at the table with the officer and Ramirez. The latter asked them if they could get Hassell “a can of tea,” this term meaning marijuana in narcotic jargon. They replied that they could not. Hassell then asked, “Can you get me ten dollars’ worth?” and the appellant answered “Yes.” Officer Hassell gave Ramirez a 10 dollar bill. Ramirez, Ben Scorza and appellant then left the place and told Hassell to wait for them there. Approximately 30 minutes later appellant returned and motioned to Hassell to go outside where Ramirez was waiting. Ramirez and Hassell got into the latter ’s car and Ramirez gave the officer a package containing 18 brown paper cigarettes.

Officer Jack Olin Carter, a duly qualified forensic chemist, analyzed the contents of the package and identified the contents as marijuana.

Appellant “concedes that had the prosecution merely presented the evidence which was before the grand jury, the testimony of William Hassell would have been sufficient to sustain the finding of guilt.” It is contended, however, that the transcript of appellant’s conversation became a part of the prosecution’s case and contradicts the testimony of Officer Hassell; that “ [t]his is not a case therefore of conflict in the evidence between the prosecution’s witness and appellant’s witness, but is a conflict in the prosecution’s own evidence. Under these circumstances, appellant submits that the evidence