People v. Suciu

FOURT, J. This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction on three counts of forgery.

In an information filed October 23, 1962, in Los Angeles County the defendant was charged in Count I with forgery in that she did on or about September 5, 1962, forge a check [890]for the payment of $60 and did then utter the same knowing of the falsity of such check with intent to cheat Madeline Cernelli, Edward Suciu (her husband) and Bank of America; in Count II she was similarly charged, the date of the offense being on or about September 9, 1962, the cheek being in the sum of $25, and Earle McDonnell being the person to whom it was passed. In the third count the charge was similar to the first two counts, the date of the offense being on or about September 5, 1962, the amount of the check being $24.93 and the person to whom she uttered the check being Don Bamsell. It was later further charged in the information that she formerly had been convicted in the federal court of a violation of the Dyer Act, a felony, and had served a term in a federal prison therefor.

She was represented by the public defender and pleaded not guilty and denied the prior conviction. A jury trial was waived. Defendant was found guilty as charged. A certified copy of the proceedings with reference to the prior conviction was introduced into evidence without objection by the prosecution which conclusively shows that defendant was convicted in the federal court (upon a plea of guilty) of the crime of violating the Dyer Act in 1960 and was placed on probation and that subsequently thereto, because of a violation of the terms of probation, such was revoked and she was thereupon placed in the custody of the Attorney General for supervision under the Federal Youth Correction Act. Her counsel asked her on direct examination whether she had been convicted of a violation of the Dyer Act in federal court and whether she had been confined to a correctional institution on account thereof and her answer was in the affirmative. She made substantially the same answers to questions put by the prosecuting attorney with reference to such prior conviction. The judge, however, in spite of what had been produced and testified to made no finding as to the truth or falsity of such charge of a prior conviction.

A résumé of some of the facts as set forth in the reporter’s transcript is as follows: Edward Suciu married appellant on October 12, 1961, and during the times with which we are concerned Edward and appellant were husband and wife. They separated on or about July 3,1962, reconciled for a short time during the early part of August and separated finally on August 15, 1962. On about September 5, 1962, appellant presented to Madeline Cernelli, a bookkeeper at a restaurant, a check drawn on the Bank of America, Midway Center