People v. Hadley

HENSHAW, J.

Defendant, a colored man, was charged with the murder of John McGovern. He was found guilty and the death penalty was imposed. He has taken his appeal from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

Certain rulings of the court in admitting and rejecting evidence are complained of. We are aided by no discussion of counsel pointing out either the error or the injury of these rulings. The brief limits itself to the bare statement that “the court erred” in sustaining this objection or in overruling that objection. This court has in numerous instances declined to consider objections so presented.

(People

v.

Woon Tuck Wo,

120 Cal. 294, [52 Pac. 833];

People

v.

McLean,

135 Cal. 306, [67 Pac. 770];

People

v.

Creeks,

141 Cal. 529, [75 Pac. 101].) Nevertheless, owing to the gravity of the case, we have examined the record with care, and in none of the instances complained of do we find a ruling which would justify, much less demand, a reversal of the case. Some of these rulings were eminently sound. Others were rulings on evi

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dentiary matters of trifling consequence. One only calls for specific consideration. The facts of the crime are that the defendant, about twenty - minutes past 8 o’clock of the evening of April 3d, was in the act of burglarizing the home of the deceased, who at the time was absent. The deceased returned to his residence while the defendant was endeavoring to effect an entrance. He went to an outbuilding and picked up an ax and walked toward his house. This act of the deceased is explained by witnesses, who said that such was his practice, as McGovern thought that by taking the ax into his house at night burglars would have a less ready means of forcing an entrance. However, as he approached his door the defendant shot him twice and fled. His dead body was found in his yard the next day. Mrs. Young, a neighbor, who heard the shots, went to her window and saw a colored man, whom she identified as this defendant, “sneaking along the front of McGovern’s house.” This man climbed the fence and made his escape by a devious route. These were the circumstances of the homicide as testified to by Mrs. Young, though she did not know until the next day, after the body had been discovered, that McGovern had in fact been killed. The defense offered the testimony of one Compnext, for the purpose of showing that under the conditions existing upon the night and at the time of the homicide Mrs. Young could not have identified the defendant. It is extremely difficult to follow this examination from the record, as frequent references are made to a map showing the position of shrubbery, trees, and fences. It is therefore impossible in many instances to pass upon the pertinency of the evidence and the soundness of the rulings. Thus, as exemplars, the witness is asked, “Do these trees extend in such a way as to completely shadow and did they at the time that this crime was alleged to have been committed—did they extend so as to completely shadow this down here?” The objection was sustained upon the ground that the question called for a conclusion of the witness. Of course if the witness in fact knew, it was no more an objectionable conclusion than if he had been asked whether it were light or dark. Again he is asked, “Is there any point at which to your knowledge the electric light shines in there?” This would seem to call for a mere declaration of fact. But an objection was sustained to it as calling for a conclusion of the witness, and “no foundation laid.” “Is Bay Street