People v. Foley, 60

Citation300 N.W. 119,299 Mich. 358
Decision Date06 October 1941
Docket NumberNo. 60,June term.,60
PartiesPEOPLE v. FOLEY.
CourtSupreme Court of Michigan

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Susan Foley was convicted of receiving money from the earnings of a prostitute, and she appeals.

Affirmed.

Appeal from Recorder's Court of Detroit; Joseph A. Gillis, judge.

Argued before the Entire Bench.

Herbert J. Rushton, Atty. Gen., for Michigan, and William E. Dowling, Pros. Atty., for Wayne County, and Ralph E. Helper, Asst. Pros. Atty. for Wayne County, both of Detroit, for the People.

Benjamin C. Stanczyk, of Detroit (George Schudlich, of Detroit, of counsel), for appellant.

BUTZEL, Justice.

Defendant was convicted of receiving money from the earnings of Mary Miller, a prostitute, in violation of Act No. 328, Pub.Acts 1931, § 457, Stat.Ann. § 28.712.

At the trial (June 3, 1940) Mary Miller was sworn as a witness for the People. On direct examination she testified that she had engaged in acts of prostitution in defendant's house, and had paid defendant one-half of the regular charge she made for each act. On cross-examination this witness was confronted by defendant's counsel with statements made by her on two previous occasions, one before the grand jury on January 8, 1940, and one before Judge Skillman at the preliminary examination in the case at bar on March 15, 1940, in which statements witness had denied that she had ever engaged in acts of prostitution in defendant's house, or ever given defendant any part of her earnings as a prostitute.

Thereupon a shorthand reporter attached to the one-man grand jury then being conducted in Detroit was introduced as a witness for the People, and he testified from his notes as to a statement made by the previous witness (the Miller woman) on January 4, 1940, before an assistant prosecuting attorney attached to the grand jury. This statement tended to corroborate the testimony of the witness Mary Miller given on direct examination on the trial, and conflicted with the two statements with which defense counsel had confronted her on cross-examination. Defendant's counsel objected to the statement of January 4, 1940, on the ground that the witness (the stenographer) was bound by oath to secrecy as to all proceedings before the grand jury. The witness explained that the statement was not grand jury testimony, but merely an information-giving disclosure, not under oath, made by the Miller woman to the special assistant prosecuting attorney. The court admitted the statement, and defendant, on appeal, has abandoned the objection made to it in the trial court.

For the first time on appeal, however, defendant now raises the entirely different objection to the admissibility of this statement that it was incompetent to corroborate the witness Miller, because it was hearsay, she was not hostile, and had not been impeached. Assuming that there is merit in the claim of law made by defendant's counsel, and that the facts are as claimed by him, the legal question now raised will not be considered, since it was not raised in the trial court. People v. Moore, 86 Mich. 134, 48 N.W. 693;People v. Peck, 147 Mich. 84, 110 N.W. 495;People v. Harvey, 220 Mich. 226, 189 N.W. 925. See also, collation of cases in 1 Gillespie, Michigan Criminal Law and Procedure, § 661.

The second claim of error made by defendant relates to the admission of evidence of previous arrests of defendant, not resulting in convictions, for the purpose of impeaching her credibility as a witness.

On direct examination defendant testified that she had been convicted of a prohibition violation. On cross-examination, when asked:

‘Q. How many times have you been arrested and convicted?’ she volunteered the reply: ‘A. Well, I don't know how many times I got arrested because they pick me up every time they come to the door, and I open up the door, and pick me up and take me for investigation.

‘Q. Investigation of what? A. Well, I don't know. They pick-they put me through a board of health, that is all I know.’

Again, on being asked how many times she had been convicted out of a former home, she answered: ‘A. Out of that place? Well, I don't know. You got to look up the record because I don't want to be lying.’

No more damaging testimony could have been drawn out by further questions. No objection was raised, not is there any intimation that defendant did not understand the questions because of her poor knowledge of the English language.

On direct examination, she testified: ‘I never say Mary Miller do anything wrong at my place. She worked as a maid for me.’

On cross-examination she admitted having been arrested with ...

To continue reading

Request your trial
16 cases
  • People v. Brocato
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US
    • May 5, 1969
    ...of this opinion signed the Hoffman opinion and now confesses that he was wrong. 17 It is based upon a misreading of People v. Foley (1941), 299 Mich. 358, 300 N.W. 119. In Foley, the defendant was charged with accepting the earnings of a prostitute. The defendant testified, on direct examin......
  • State v. Williams
    • United States
    • North Carolina Supreme Court
    • December 15, 1971
    ...accusations or indictments not resulting in conviction. State v. Bigler, 138 Kan. 13, 23 P.2d 598 (1933), and People v. Foley, 299 Mich. 358, 300 N.W. 119 (1941). In 20 A.L.R.2d at 1444, the commentator refers to three jurisdictions where a distinction had been drawn 'between a mere accusat......
  • People v. Falkner
    • United States
    • Michigan Supreme Court
    • July 25, 1973
    ...has been made, he may not be impeached because such matters are collateral.' Thus, when the Court decided People v. Foley, 299 Mich. 358, 363, 300 N.W. 119, 120 (1941), it threw in 'We are not dealing with the testimony of other witnesses introduced to impeach the credibility of a given wit......
  • People v. Collins
    • United States
    • Michigan Supreme Court
    • March 4, 1968
    ...except on motion of the Court itself. See to the point People v. Sanford, 252 Mich. 240, 248, 250, 253, 233 N.W. 192; People v. Foley, 299 Mich. 358, 360, 361, 300 N.W. 119; People v. Millman, 306 Mich. 182, 189, 10 N.W.2d 885; In re Pardee, 327 Mich. 13, 18, 41 N.W.2d 466; People v. Bannin......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT