People v. Prather

Citations

• 120 Cal. 660
• 53 P. 259
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 831

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Grand Larceny—Description of Property—Estate of Deceased Persons.—Under the Penal Code, an information for grand larceny, in which the property stolen is described as cattle belonging to the estate of a deceased person, without specifying his heirs or legal representatives, is sufficient to identify the act constituting the offense, and is not demurrable for defect in the description.</p> <p>Id.—Venue of Offense—Cattle Driven from County.—Where the offense is charged in the information as having been completed in the county, and there is evidence tending to sustain the charge, the fact that the cattle were proved to have been driven out of the county by the defendant, is immaterial, and cannot be considered upon demurrer to the information.</p> <p>Id.—Evidence—Withdrawing Witness to Connect Testimony.—It is proper practice to permit a witness to he withdrawn, in order to lay a foundation for the admissibility of his testimony.</p> <p>In.—Declarations of Defendant.—Testimony, the object of which is to prove declarations of the defendant in his own favor, is not admissible.</p> <p>Id.—Impeachment of Witness—Conversation with District Attorney.— Where a brother of the defendant, who had been arrested, charged with the same larceny and discharged without examination, was called as a witness for the defendant, the district attorney may, on cross-examination, ask him relative to a conversation had between the witness and himself for the purpose of impeaching him, and testing his credibility.</p> <p>Id.—Impeachment of Defendant—General Reputation.—Where the defendant offers himself as a witness, he may be impeached by proof that his general reputation for truth, honesty, and integrity is bad.</p> <p>Id.—Instructions—Grand Larceny—Stealing of Cattle—Guilt of Defendant.—Where the court gave proper instructions to the jury as to grand larceny in the felonious stealing of a cow, steer, bull, calf, etc., and then instructed them that as there is no evidence of a