People v. Sanchez

Opinion

ELKINGTON, J.

James Sanchez was convicted on a jury’s verdict of violating Education Code section 29015.

Substantial evidence established that Sanchez in his successful application for a job told his prospective employer that he had been graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. The employer, unable to obtain the university’s verification of the statement so informed Sanchez, who thereafter handed the employer a diploma which purported to confirm his earlier statement. The employer made a copy of the document which was forwarded to the university. The diploma was a forgery; it falsely certified that Sanchez had been graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara, when in fact he had never been a student at that institution.

Section 29015 provides: “No person, firm, association, partnership or corporation may:

“(a) Use in connection with a business, trade, profession or occupation, or give or receive;

“(b) Attempt to use in connection with a business, trade, profession or occupation, or attempt to give or receive;

“(c) Conspire to use in connection with a business, trade, profession or occupation, or conspire to give or receive; any diploma or degree evidencing the undertaking or completion of any course of study or scholastic achievement attained if, in fact, said course of study has not been undertaken nor completed or if such scholastic achievement has not been attained.”

The information charged that Sanchez

“did attempt to give and did give

a diploma or degree to another person evidencing the undertaking or completion of a course of study and scholastic achievement obtained knowing that such course of study had not been undertaken or completed and that such scholastic achievement had not been attained.” (Italics added.)

[416]

Although the point is. not raised by the parties, we conclude that Sanchez’ temporary delivery of the fraudulent diploma to another constituted a “giving” of such document within the meaning of section 29015. Webster’s New International Dictionary (2d ed. 1935), indicates an accepted meaning of the verb “give” as: “To offer to the action of another; to proffer, expose, or present; ... To present to view or for consideration,