In Re Harris
In Re Harris
Concurring Opinion
I concur, but deem it appropriate to consider an additional ground on which petitioner attacks the judgment against him.
Petitioner contends that this evidence was seized in violation of the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States as made applicable to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and that under the recent decision of the United States Supreme Court in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 [81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081], the trial court was constitutionally compelled to exclude this evidence at his trial. He concludes that since its use against him constituted a denial of due process, he may collaterally attack the judgment on habeas corpus. This question is squarely presented in this ease, and if the constitutionality of the seizure may properly be considered on habeas corpus, it should be determined now for the guidance of the trial court in the event petitioner is retried. (See In re Newbern, 53 Cal.2d 786, 792 [350 P.2d 116]; In re Dal Porte, 198 Cal. 216, 220 [244 P. 355]; cf., Code Civ. Proe., § 53.)
When this court adopted the exclusionary rule we pointed out that “It bears emphasis that in the absence of a holding by the United States Supreme Court that the due process clause requires exclusion of unconstitutionally obtained evidence, whatever rule we adopt, whether it excludes or admits the evidence, will be a judicially declared rule of evidence.” (People v. Cahan, 44 Cal.2d 434, 442 [282 P.2d 905, 50 A.L.R. 2d 513].) Moreover, as we then analyzed the relevant decisions of the United States Supreme Court, we concluded that Mr. Justice Black was correct in stating that “the federal exclusionary rule is not a command of the Fourth Amendment but is a judicially created rule of evidence which Congress might negate.” (Concurring opinion in Wolf v. Colorado, 338 U.S. 25, 39-40 [69 S.Ct. 1359, 93 L.Ed. 1782]; see People v. Cahan, supra, 44 Cal.2d 434, 439-440.) In Mapp v. Ohio, supra, 81 S.Ct. 1684, however, the United States Supreme Court overruled the Wolf case and held “that all evidence obtained by searches and seizures in violation of the Constitution is, by the same authority, inadmissible in a state court.” (81 S.Ct. at p. 1691.) It also pointed out that
In In re Dixon, 41 Cal.2d 756 [264 P.2d 513], we held that alleged denials of even constitutional rights in the admission of evidence could not be reached on habeas corpus when the issue had been presented to the trial court on conflicting evidence and no appeal had been taken or adequate excuse offered for failing to appeal. We stated: “We must consider whether, regardless of the lack of a satisfactory excuse for the failure to appeal, we may properly pass upon petitioner’s claims relating to forced confession and unlawful search and seizure. Petitioner argues that a failure to appeal will not prevent a resort to habeas corpus when, as here, fundamental constitutional rights are involved. His contentions, however, depend entirely on his version of what occurred, and, as we shall see, there was ample evidence from which the trial court could have found that there was no violation of his rights. It is, of course, an established rule that habeas corpus may not be used instead of an appeal to review determinations of fact made upon conflicting evidence after a fair trial. [Citations.] Likewise, the writ is not available to correct errors or irregularities relating to ascertainment of the facts when such errors could and should have been raised by appeal. [Citations.] The same principles should apply even though the alleged errors involving factual issues relate to an asserted denial of constitutional rights. [Citation.] It would obviously
In the present case, however, petitioner has exhausted his remedy by appeal (see People v. Harris, 192 Cal.App.2d Supp. 887 [13 Cal.Rptr. 642]), and he contends that the record establishes as a matter of law that the seizure of evidence from his bookstore was unconstitutional.
If the violation of a petitioner’s constitutional rights by the use of illegally seized evidence had any bearing on the issue of his guilt, there should be no doubt that habeas corpus would be available. Unlike the denial of the right to counsel, the knowing use of perjured testimony or suppression of evidence, the use of an involuntary confession, or as in this case, the denial of an opportunity to present a defense, the use of illegally seized evidence carries with it no risk of convicting an innocent person. The purpose of the exclusionary rule is not to prevent the conviction of the innocent, but to deter unconstitutional methods of law enforcement. (Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 217 [80 S.Ct. 1437, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669]; Walder v. United States, 347 U.S. 62, 64-65 [74 S.Ct.
Even if we were to limit the area of collateral attack to cases in which the facts were not disputed or to require that the facts be determined from the record on appeal viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, repetitious attacks on final judgments would not be eliminated. The law of search and seizure has not been static. The United States Supreme Court has only recently relaxed the requirements of standing to challenge the use of illegally obtained evidence (Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 261-267 [80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697] ; cf., People v. Martin, supra, 45 Cal.2d 755, 759-761) and abandoned the rule that evidence illegally seized by state officers is admissible in federal courts. (Elkins v. United States, supra, 364 U.S. 206.) If collateral attack was permissible, such changes would invite fresh attacks on final judgments affirmed on appeal under the preexisting rules or on judgments from which appeals were excusably not taken in view of the apparent state of the law. Moreover, if such changes reflected refinements and improvements in constitutional law that went to the correct determination of guilt itself, one would indeed be reluctant to deny their benefits to persons claiming that they had been convicted of crimes they did not commit through the denial of rights now determined to be of constitutional magnitude. Such changes, however, like the exclusionary rule itself have no bearing on the issue of guilt, and it is therefore easily understandable why the lower federal courts have consistently adhered to the rule that the question of unconstitutionally seized evidence may not be raised on collateral attack. (United States v. Zavada, 291 F.2d 189, 191; Jones v. Attorney General of the United States, 278 F.2d 699, 701; Alexander v. United States, 290 F.2d 252, 254; Plummer v. United States, 260 F.2d 729, 730; Wilkins v. United States, 103 App.D.C. 322 [258 F.2d 416]; United States v. Scales, 249 F.2d 368, 370; Barber v. United
Enforcing constitutional rights for the purpose of regulating law enforcement activities is different from enforcing them for the purpose of correctly determining a defendant’s guilt or innocence, as we recognized in another context in determining when an informer’s identity must be disclosed. Thus, when it appears “that the informer is a material witness on the issue of guilt and the accused seeks disclosure on cross-examination, the People must either disclose his identity or incur a dismissal. ’ ’ (People v. McShann, 50 Cal.2d 802, 808 [330 P.2d 33].) If, however, the informer is not a witness on the issue of guilt, but has only provided information to justify an arrest, his identity need not be disclosed if the police had sufficient additional evidence to justify the arrest (Priestly v. Superior Court, 50 Cal.2d 812, 816-817 [330 P.2d 39]) or used the information provided by the informer to secure a valid warrant. (People v. Keener, 55 Cal.2d 714, 722-723 [12 Cal.Rptr. 859, 361 P.2d 587].) As we pointed out in the Priestly ease the policy conflict when the informer is a witness on the issue of guilt is “between the encouragement of the free flow of information to law enforcement officials and the right of the defendant to make a full and fair defense on the issue of guilt. ’ ’ When, however, the communications of the informer are only relevant to the issue of reasonable cause to make an arrest and search, “the policy conflict is between the encouragement of the free flow of information to law enforcement officers and the policy to discourage lawless enforcement of the law.” (50 Cal.2d at p. 816.) In the present case the conflict is between the policy in favor of finality of judgments and the policy to discourage lawless enforcement of the law. Since the latter policy may be adequately protected at trial and on appeal, it need not be further promoted by destroying the finality of judgments.
This resolution of the conflicting policies is not precluded by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court holding that a state conviction may be attacked on habeas corpus in the federal courts on the ground that an involuntary confession was introduced in evidence, even though that issue had been fully litigated and determined adversely to the petitioner in the state courts. (See Rogers v. Richmond, supra, 81 S.Ct. 735; Leyra v. Denno, supra, 347 U.S. 556.) It is true
TMs contention is correct. Whatever the limitations on the seizure of evidence incident to a lawful arrest may be in other contexts (see generally, Abel v. United States, 362 U.S. 217, 234-235 [80 S.Ct. 683, 4 L.Ed.2d 668], and eases cited), neither an arrest nor a search warrant can vest an officer with discretion to interfere with the distribution of constitutionally protected publications to the extent that occurred here. (Marcus v. Search Warrants of Property, etc., Mo., 367 U.S. 717 [81 S.Ct. 1708, 1716-1717, 6 L.Ed.2d 1127].) Even if a seizure of representative samples of petitioner’s nonobscene publications dealing with sex would have been reasonable to provide evidence of the general character of Ms business, it was wholly unnecessary to seize 75 to 90 per cent of the contents of the store including many publications that did not deal with sex at all. Such a seizure suggests, at least, that its purpose was not to secure evidence of "intent or notice” with respect to the two specific publications alleged to be obscene, but to punish petitioner for his alleged crimes without a trial by putting Mm out of business. Neither that punishment nor the procedure followed is a permissible means of enforcing Penal Code section 311,
Opinion of the Court
Petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner’s salesman was arrested, without a warrant, for selling obscene books in violation of section 311, subdivision 3, of the Penal Code.
At his trial all the material which had been seized was introduced into evidence for the purpose of showing “intent or notice.”
Petitioner offered evidence that the books sold were not, according to contemporary community standards, obscene. The evidence consisted of expert testimony, comparable writings and pictures adjudged in Los Angeles County to be not obscene, and comparable writings and publications purchased in the community. All the offered evidence was excluded by the trial court. Petitioner contended before the trial court, and contends here, that he was thus denied due process of law.
This is the sole question necessary for us to determine : Was it a denial of due process for the trial court not to allow defendant to prove contemporary community standards?
Yes. The standard for judging obscenity adequate to withstand the charge of constitutional infirmity is whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest. (Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476, 489 [77 S.Ct. 1304, 1 L.Ed.2d 1498] ; Aday v. Superior Court, 55 Cal.2d 789, 797 [5] [13 Cal.Rptr. 415, 362 P.2d 47] ; cf. Smith v. California, 361 U.S. 147, 165 [80 S.Ct. 215, 4 L.Ed.2d 205] ; Grove Press, Inc. v. Christenberry, 175 F.Supp. 488, 502; Lockhart and McClure, Censorship of Obscenity, 45 Minn.L.Rev. 5, 98; Lockhart and McClure, Literature, the Law of Obscenity, and the Constitution, 38 Minn.L.Rev. 295, 348.)
Under the foregoing rule, the trial court’s ruling denied petitioner due process of law.
In view of our conclusions, it is unnecessary to discuss other arguments made by counsel.
Petitioner is ordered discharged from custody.
Gibson, C. J., Traynor, J., Schauer, J., Peters, J., White, J., and Dooling, J., concurred.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In Re ALBERT J. HARRIS on Habeas Corpus
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