People v. Vukojevich

SHAW, J.

Defendant and two others were charged with the crime of murder. Upon a separate trial defendant was convicted of the crime of manslaughter. He appeals from the judgment and an order denying his motion for a new trial.

A sufficient answer to the appeal from the order denying the motion for a new trial is that the grounds upon which the motion was based are not disclosed by the record; neither are the affidavits of newly-discovered evidence referred to in appellant’s brief, incorporated therein. It devolves upon appellant to show the existence of error. In the absence of such affirmative showing this court, in accordance with the rule that all intendments are in favor of the regularity of the proceedings, will indulge the presumption that the ruling was correct.

All of the parties involved were Slavonians. It appears that on the afternoon of October 5, 1913, the attention of deceased, whose name was Charles Rezo, and several companions, all of whom were at the time in a house known as No. 114 Leroy Street in Los Angeles, was attracted by the report of fire arms at No. 118 on said street. Deceased left the house, followed by several others, going toward the house No. 118, at which time defendant, accompanied by several companions, all or most of them being armed with knives and pistols, met the party of deceased coming from No. 114, and a general fight,

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accompanied by much neighborhood excitement, ensued. In the affray Charles Rezo was almost instantly killed by a knife wound which pierced the pulmonary artery. According to the theory of the prosecution, this knife wound which caused the death of Rezo was inflicted by defendant, and it is apparent from the verdict rendered that the jury were satisfied as to the correctness of such theory.

Counsel for defendant has filed a voluminous brief of nearly one hundred pages, wherein he attacks the sufficiency of the evidence to justify the verdict. In his zeal in this behalf he not only quotes at great length the evidence pro and eon given by the numerous witnesses, pointing out discrepancies therein which he insists render certain testimony given for the prosecution unworthy of credence and without weight, but not content with so doing, produces what he claims to be the testimony of a witness given in another trial of one of the parties jointly charged with defendant, and by comparing it with the testimony of the same witness given in this case, attempts to show inconsistencies therein. If any question can be deemed settled law in this state it is that the appellate courts cannot and will not, where a substantial conflict of evidence exists, determine the credit which should be accorded witnesses, or attempt to weigh their testimony. It indeed appears useless to cite authorities in support of the proposition that under such circumstances no question of law is presented for review. In' this case appellant, by pointing out the ' alleged discrepancies, concedes a substantial conflict in the evidence which, he says, renders it unsatisfactory. What is said in