People v. North

HERNDON, J.

Having been convicted by a jury of the crime of issuing checks without sufficient funds in violation of section 476a of the Penal Code, defendant has appealed from the judgment. Several contentions are made on this appeal, but since the judgment must be reversed by reason of the application of law enunciated in

People

v.

Dorado,

62 Cal.2d 338 [42 Cal.Rptr. 169, 398 P.2d 316], no useful purpose would be served by discussing any other assignments of error. They involve problems which are not likely to be presented on any subsequent appeal, should one be taken.

Officer McEwen of the Forgery Detail of the Pasadena Police Department testified concerning a statement made

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to him by appellant “in the Detective Division of one of the offices at the Pasadena Police Department.” Appellant was then under arrest. The officer testified as follows: “In reference to two other checks, one given to Wayne Motors for a Buick, the cheek was for $100.00, and another check for $400.00, which was given to Mr. Saulnier for a ’56 Mercury ; the checks were of the same nature as the two given the furniture dealers. And I asked him how he expected these checks would become good. And he said he expected to make them good with the proceeds from the job which he had at Foothill Heating. But that he knew, in other words, at the time that he gave the cheeks, there wasn’t money there, but he intended to obtain the money from his job and make those checks good.” In

People

v.

Dorado, supra,

62 Cal.2d 338, 353-354, the following declaration of the law was made:

“We conclude, then, that defendant’s confession could not properly be introduced into evidence because (1) the investigation was no longer a general inquiry into an unsolved crime but had begun to focus on a particular suspect, (2) the suspect was in custody, (3) the authorities had carried out a process of interrogations that lent itself to eliciting incriminating statements, (4) the authorities had not effectively informed defendant of his right to counsel or of his absolute right to remain silent, and no evidence establishes that he had waived these rights.”