People v. Mayes

Citations

• 113 Cal. 618
• 45 P. 860
• 1896 Cal. LEXIS 833

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Trial—Conduct of District Attorney—Discretion of Judge.—Much must he left to the discretion of the trial judge in determining whether a district attorney oversteps the bounds of legal propriety in the conduct of the prosecution; and, unless it clearly appears to the contrary, the judgment of the trial court that his conduct has wrought no prejudice to the defendant will not be set aside; and his conduct must not merely be brusque, but must militate against justice, and the fair and orderly conduct of judicial proceedings in criminal eases, and must amount to willful error, persisted in for an illegitimate purpose, followed by injustice to the prisoner, before the appellate court will interfere.</p> <p>Id. — Statements by Court in Ruling upon Evidence — Province of Jury—Instruction.—Statements of evidence made by the court in ruling upon the admission of evidence are not in the nature of instructions to the jury with reference to the evidence, and are not an invasion of the province of the jury, and it is not to be assumed that they will be influenced by it; and where the court instructs the jury when the cause is submitted to disregard any statement of fact made by the court, and to determine all questions of fact from the evidence alone, such instruction removes all apprehension of prejudicial results to the defendant from the statements of the court.</p> <p>Id.—Impeachment of Defendant as Witness—Character of Defendant—Presumption—Instruction.—Where the defendant offers himself as a witness, his testimony is subject to the same rules as that of any other witness, and he may be impeached in the same mode as any other witness.</p> <p>Id. — Charge of Larceny — Cross-examination of Defendant’s Witnesses—Reputation as to Honesty and Integrity—Specific Acts. Upon trial of a charge of larceny, it is proper to permit the prosecution to cross-examine witnesses called in behalf of the defendant to sustain 'his reputation, in reference to his reputation for h