People v. Morales

YORK, J.

Defendant appeals from an order denying a motion for a new trial and from a judgment of conviction of forgery of a bank check.

Appellant contends that he was convicted on incompetent and immaterial evidence admitted by the court over his objection. It is contended that the evidence complained of led the jury to believe that defendant had committed other similar crimes and that this evidence was admitted in violation of the well-established rule of evidence that the prosecution cannot prove the commission by the

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defendant of other offenses committed by him, for the purpose of increasing the likelihood that he has committed the particular crime with which he is charged. There is no doubt about the law in such cases, but in the application of the law to the instant case, we find that the evidence complained of is not of the class considered by appellant. It is true that in bringing out evidence material to the issue, circumstances tending to cast suspicion on defendant in the commission of other crimes appeared incidentally, some of which were elicited by the defendant on cross-examination of witnesses produced by the prosecution. The evidence complained of came out in statements extrajudicial made by defendant to witnesses and extrajudicial statements made in his -presence by others, which he did not deny, all of which statements were relevant and material in establishing defendant’s guilt in the instant case. The court did not err in overruling objections to such evidence offered by the prosecution or in declining to strike out evidence which pertained to defendant’s guilt in the instant case. Illustrative of the point made in appellant’s brief that there was error in admitting that class of evidence over his objection, Jane H. Uhl, a witness on the part of the prosecution, was asked by the district attorney whether in the conversation which had been referred to between the witness and Morales anything was said by Mr. Morales or Mrs. Fruhling relative to the check in question. She answered: “No, not particularly to that one check.” The district attorney said: “Was there anything said about any check?” The defendant objected to the question on the ground that it was incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, no foundation laid and on the ground that there was no proof of other cheeks. The witness answered: “Not about any one particular check.” The district attorney then asked: “What was said about any check? A. Well, that he signed them. Q. What did he say about signing them? A. In the course of this conversation they brought up Mrs. Zimmerman. . . . Then they commenced to talk about the checks he was accused of and he admitted that she was very, very ill and her folks would get all her money anyway, and he would just as well have that money out of her. Q. Who said that? A. Ralph. He said that in the presence of Mrs. Fruhling. Q. Was that this defendant?