People v. Marcus

PEEK, J.

This is an appeal by defendant from a judgment of conviction entered pursuant to the verdict of the jury finding him guilty of violation of section 4502 of the Penal Code in that on the date specified, while a prisoner at Folsom State Prison, he had in his possession a knife, contrary to the provisions of said statute. His motion for a new trial was denied and he now appeals from that order as well as the judgment.

His sole contention on appeal is that the verdict is contrary to the law and the evidence for the reason that by his acknowledged possession of the knife he was seeking to accomplish the very object and purpose of said code section. In this he relies upon statements taken from context such as “The statute was passed to protect the guards and other inmates of the prison”

(People

v.

Scherbing,

93 Cal.App.2d 736, 742 [209 P.2d 796]), and that the section was passed “to protect inmates and

[348]

officers of state prisons from the peril of assaults with dangerous weapons perpetrated by armed prisoners”

(People

v.

Wells,

68 Cal.App.2d 476 [156 P.2d 979]). See, also,

People

v.

Harris,

98 Cal.App.2d 662, 666 [220 P.2d 812].

His testimony in explanation of 'his possession of the knife was simply that he had received it from one Henderson in order to prevent serious trouble between Henderson and one Joe Perez and that pursuant to his urging Henderson surrendered the knife to him.

In view of what this court said in

People

v.