People v. Taylor
People v. Taylor
Opinion of the Court
The defendant was charged with violating section 288 of the Penal Code by performing certain described acts upon and with a boy of the age of 12 years, and in a second count with violating the Juvenile Court Law by contributing to the delinquency of this minor by doing certain other acts. A jury found him not guilty of the charge of violating section 288 of the Penal Code and guilty of the contributing charge. Prom the judgment entered he has appealed.
Prom the evidence for the prosecution it appears that the boy in question was selling magazines in Newport Beach on June 22, 1937; that the appellant, who was a real estate agent, came along in an automobile and asked him where Costa Mesa was; that the boy lived in Costa Mesa and the appellant asked him to ride there with him, which he did; that the boy showed the appellant the house where he lived, but the appellant asked him to ride further with him; that the appellant drove over some country roads and, after showing the boy some land which he stated that a man wanted to have sold, finally stopped the ear and the events involved in the first count of the information there took place; that
It is first contended that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the judgment because the testimony of the complaining witness and of one of his brothers was so uncertain, contradictory and unreasonable as to be unworthy of belief. In support of this contention it is pointed out that the complaining witness testified that his birthday Avas on June 30th, while his mother testified that he had made a mistake and that it was on April 30th; that he did not know the names of certain streets or certain directions; and that he testified that on the occasion in question he was selling the Saturday Evening Post and did not have the Liberty Magazine, but later stated that he did not know whether he was selling Liberties or Saturday Evening Posts at that time. It is also argued that the brother of the complaining witness, who gave an excellent description of the man who asked the complaining witness if he was still selling magazines and who then
The only other point raised is that the verdict is inconsistent and conflicting. It is argued that the evidence in support of both charges is identically the same and that since the jury acquitted him on the first charge it necessarily follows that there is no basis for his conviction on the second charge. This argument is entirely without merit since the specific acts alleged and proved in connection with the second charge are entirely separate and distinct from those alleged and sought to be proved in connection with the first charge, although they occurred on the same trip, and they are acts which would not have supported a conviction on the first charge.
The judgment is affirmed.
Marks, J., and Jennings, J., concurred.
A petition for a rehearing of this cause was denied by the District Court of Appeal on April 13, 1938.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.