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1 Cal. 231

Mateer v. Brown

California Supreme Court

Decided December 15, 1850

California Supreme Court · decided 1850-12-15

<p>This court retains control of a cause on appeal, until the remittitur is filed with the court below.</p> <p>The case of Grogan ⅜ Lent v. Ruckle, (ante, p. 193,) affirmed.</p> <p>Where a judgment is founded in part on incompetent evidence, it will be reversed on appeal, unless it can be clearly seen that the improper evidence could have had no influence on the minds of the jury.</p>

Cited by 3 later decisions — most recently November 1889

2 state decisions

Relies on Osgood v. President & Directors of the Manhattan Co.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1850-12-15

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¶1By the Court,

BeNNett, J.

¶2A re-hearing having been granted in this case, it has been a second time argued. It is objected that the court has not the power to review its former judgment. The remittitur not having been sent to, nor filed with, the court below, we still have control over the cause. (See Grogan & Lent v. Ruckle, ante, p. 193, and cases there cited.)

¶3Tbe counsel for the plaintiff asks us to modify our former *232judgment, and decide that certain facts were proved at the trial, by evidence independent of that which we held in our former decision to be incompetent. The determination whether such facts were proved or not, was peculiarly within the province of the jury, or the district court sitting as a jury. "What weight the improper evidence had on the mind of the district judge in coming to the conclusion which he arrived at, we cannot determine ; and where a judgment is founded in part on incompetent evidence, unless we can clearly see that it had no effect, the judgment is erroneous. (Trimble v. Thorner, 16 John. 89; Osgood v. Manhattan Co. 3 Cow. 612.) Our former decision must stand.

¶4Ordered accordingly.

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