People v. Prewitt

ASHBURN, J.

Indicted for bookmaking and occupying an apartment for the purpose of recording bets (Pen. Code, § 337a), defendant moved to set aside the indictment under section 995, Penal Code, the motion was granted, the People appealed from that order and the Supreme Court reversed

(People

v.

Prewitt,

52 Cal.2d 330 [341 P.2d 1]). The case came on for trial without a jury, defendant was found guilty and appealed from the judgment and an order denying his motion for new trial; that appeal is now before us.

Said Supreme Court opinion summarizes the evidence upon which the indictment was based. Comparison of that résumé with the transcript of the trial reveals no essential or substantial differences between them. The Supreme Court said, at page 334 of 52 Cal.2d: “The foregoing evidence before the grand jury was sufficient to support the indictment unless it was illegally obtained.” At page 336: “Accordingly, the question presented is whether information from an informer who has proved reliable in the past constitutes probable cause for an arrest when the officer does not know the identity of the informer. ... If the officer does not know the name of the informer he does not suppress evidence by not stating it. He is not seeking to eat his cake and have it too; to rely on information and yet not reveal it. . . . The question remains whether the information should nevertheless be held insufficient to constitute reasonable cause.” Examining that question, the court further stated; “ ‘Although information provided by an anonymous informer is relevant on the issue of reasonable cause, in the absence of some pressing emergency [citation], an arrest may not be based solely on such information [citations], and evidence must be presented to the court that would justify the conclusion that reliance on the information was reasonable. [Citation.] In some cases the

[604]

identity of, or past experience with, the informer may provide such evidence [citation],* and in others it may be supplied by similar information from other sources or by the personal observations of the police.’

(Willson