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116 Cal. 295

People v. Coyne

California Supreme Court

Decided March 16, 1897

California Supreme Court · decided 1897-03-16

B. N. Smith, Judge. The defendant was accused of feloniously injuring the building of one T. D. Stimpson by explosion of gunpowder and other explosive substances, by means of which the lives and safety of said T. D. Stimpson and other human beings were in danger. Further facts are stated in the opinion of the court.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1897-03-16

How this case has been cited

Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently September 1974

2 federal appellate · 10 state decisions

40189719001910192019301940195019601970decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Garoutte, J.

¶1Defendant was convicted of a felony, and prosecutes this appeal from the judgment and order denying a motion for a new trial.

¶21. The jury were selected to try the defendant at the *297morning session of court, and an adjournment was then taken until 2 o’clock p. m. of the same day, at which, time the introduction of evidence was begun. During the time of adjournment the jurors were not in the custody of the officer, neither had they been admonished by the court upon their duty, as demanded by section 3122 of the Penal Code. Complaint is now made that the course practiced at the trial constituted substantial and material error. The fact that the jurors separated during this period of time furnishes no ground for complaint; for section 1121 of the Penal Code leaves that matter to the discretion of the court. But a failure of the court to admonish the jurors as to their duty during the hours of separation is certainly an objectionable practice, and not countenanced by the statute. It seems that such omission upon the part of the court occurred but once during the progress of the trial, and at such time the introduction of evidence had not commenced. In the trial of criminal casés the court cannot be too careful in planting itself firmly upon the statute, and a strict compliance with its provisions is always time and labor well spent. But the error in this regard is technical, and not of that importance to demand a reversal of the judgment and a new trial.

¶32. The information charges the building injured to be the property of T. D. Stimpson. Upon the trial it -was developed that the legal title to the property stood in the name of Mrs. T. D. Stimpson (the wife). It appeared that T. D. Stimpson paid the taxes upon the property, and was residing with his wife and other members of the family in the building, at the time the offense is charged to have been committed. Under such circumstances his possession of the premises -was entirely sufficient to support the allegation of the information as to ownership.

¶4There is no merit in the remaining assignment of •errors.

¶5For the foregoing reasons the judgment and order are affirmed.

¶6*298Harrison, J., Van Fleet, J., and McFarland, J., concurred.

¶7Henshaw, J., dissented.

¶8Rehearing denied.

¶9Beatty, C. J., dissented from the order denying a rehearing.

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