People v. Vasalo

Citations

• 120 Cal. 168
• 52 P. 305
• 1898 Cal. LEXIS 729

Syllabus

<p>Criminal Law—Legality of Commitment—Verification of Complaint before Clerk of Police Court.—Under the authority given by section 2093 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the clerk of the police court of the city of Los Angeles has authority to administer the oath to a person verifying a complaint charging the commission of an offense; and a motion to set aside an information based thereon, for want of a legal commitment under such complaint, owing to the absence of a legal verification thereof, cannot be sustained.</p> <p>Id.—Burning Insured Property with Intent to Defraud—Sufficiency of Information—Use of Participles.—An information charging the offense of willfully burning insured property with intent to defraud the insurer under section 548 of the Penal Code, which states the ownership of a building in the defendant, the fact of insurance thereon, the burning of the building by the defendant, and that such burning was done with intent to defraud the insurer, is sufficient, and is not rendered defective in substance by the use of participles therein instead of verbs, though the information could be improved by not using them and by alleging all the facts directly and positively.</p> <p>Id.—Trial—Continuance beyond Sixty Days—Preceding Causes.—Where it appears that the trial of the defendant came on in regular order, and that a continuance of the trial beyond sixty days was caused by the trial of other criminal cases which had precedence over the case of- defendant, there is good cause for such continuance and for a denial of a motion to dismiss the prosecution on account thereof.</p> <p>Id.—Evidence—Secondary Proof of Contract of Insurance—Order for Production by Attorney.—Where it appeared at the trial that the contract for insurance of the burned building was in the possession of the attorney for defendant, and the court ordered the attorney to produce it in court at 2 o’clock of that day, which the attorney failed to do, not upon the ground that he needed more t