Walker v. Superior Court In and For Mendocino County

• Decision Date: 08 November 1957
• Citation: 155 Cal.App.2d 134,317 P.2d 130
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Robert WALKER, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT OF The State of California, IN AND FOR The COUNTY OF MENDOCINO, Respondent. Civ. 9376.

Page 130

317 P.2d 130

155 Cal.App.2d 134

Robert WALKER, Petitioner, v. The SUPERIOR COURT OF The State of California, IN AND FOR The COUNTY OF MENDOCINO, Respondent.

Civ. 9376.

District Court of Appeal, Third District, California.

Nov. 8, 1957.

Rehearing Denied Dec. 5, 1957.

Hearing Denied Dec. 30, 1957.

Broaddus & Golden, Ukiah, for petitioner.

Edmund G. Brown, Atty. Gen., by Doris H. Maier, Deputy Atty. Gen., and Merle P. Orchard, Mendocino County Dist. Atty., Ukiah, for respondents.

VAN DYKE, Presiding Justice.

This is a petition for a writ of mandate to compel the respondent court to order the pretrial inspection of certain reports in the possession of the district attorney and coroner and to furnish the petitioner's counsel with copies of certain documents in the possession of the sheriff and the district attorney.

Petitioner Robert Walker has been indicted for the murder of one Marion Harrist and for the attempted rape of one Nellie V. Acard. On September 13, 1957, petitioner sought an order from the respondent court directing the district attorney and the sheriff to deliver to petitioner's counsel the following documents:

1. A copy of any written statements signed by the petitioner and a copy of any transcripts of any recorded statement given by the petitioner.

2. A copy of any written statement signed by Raul Diaz and a copy of any transcript of any recorded statement given by Raul Diaz.

3. A copy of any report of Carl Aagaard, M. D., concerning the autopsy performed by him on the body of Marion Harrist.

4. A copy of any report received by the district attorney or the sheriff from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation concerning materials observed on or removed from the petitioner's shoes

In the alternative to the above requests, petitioner sought an order permitting petitioner's counsel to inspect and copy each of the statements, transcripts, and reports.

The motion was made on the ground that the petitioner was entitled to receive, inspect, and copy the statements, transcripts and reports in preparation for trial and that to deny petitioner such rights would be to deprive him of procedural due process of law.

A hearing was had on the motion, at which time affidavits were introduced by petitioner and his counsel. No counter-affidavits were filed by the prosecution. Factually, therefore, the matters averred were admitted. Petitioner alleged in his affidavit that he made certain statements to members of the sheriff's office; that he was unable to recall what he said; that it may be necessary for him to refresh his memory of the events to which they relate; and that the statements made are material to the issue of petitioner's guilt or innocence.

The affidavit of petitioner's attorney alleged that he went to the home of Raul Diaz, who was an eyewitness to the events and occurrences leading to the charges against petitioner, to interview Diaz concerning the facts giving rise to those charges; that Diaz told the attorney that he would be willing to discuss the events and occurrences observed by him relating to the death of Marion Harrist and the alleged attempted rape of Nellie V. Acard, except that he had been told by the sheriff not to discuss anything about those matters with anyone; that the sheriff had given Diaz a writing for him to show to anyone attempting to talk to him about the case reading as follows:

'I, Raul Diaz, have been Instructed by Sheriff Reno H. Bartolomie of Mendocino County, not to converse, discuss, or mention anything pertaining to the case of The People of the State of California, -vs.- Robert Walker, who is now being held in the Mendocino County Jail and charged with 187 P.C., to-wit: murder, 161 P.C., to-wit: attempt rape. This notice also includes the defense attorneys or attorney for Robert Walker.'

Continuing, the affidavit stated that Diaz said he was afraid that he would get in trouble if he violated the sheriff's order; that the sheriff has in his possession or under his control written statements signed by Diaz; that the sheriff has refused to provide the attorney with a copy of Diaz's statement; that Diaz is the only witness to the events and occurrences at the time Marion Harrist met his death except for defendant and Nellie V. Acard, and that his statements are necessary for defendant and his attorney to determine what Diaz observed.

The affidavit further stated that the attorney had asked Dr. Aagaard, the physician who performed the autopsy on the body of the decedent, for a copy of the autopsy report; that Dr. Aagaard refused to furnish a copy of the report or to discuss the matter because he also had been instructed by the sheriff not to do so; that the attorney had asked the sheriff, who is also the county coroner, for a copy of the report, but the request was refused.

The affidavit of petitioner's attorney also states that the prosecution contends the decedent met his death as a result of being kicked in the head by petitioner; that at the time of petitioner's arrest he was wearing the same pair of shoes he was wearing at time decedent met his death; that several days after he was incarcerated in the county jail the sheriff took the shoes; that the sheriff transmitted them to the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, where the shoes were submitted to a laboratory analysis in which any materials deposited on the shoes which might have some evidentiary value in the case were removed; that it is now impossible to obtain any more material from the shoes having any evidentiary value on the issue of whether or not petitioner kicked the decedent on the head; that the sheriff has a written report containing statements identifying and describing the material removed from the shoes; that the sheriff has refused to furnish petitioner's attorney with a copy thereof and that without the report it is impossible for the defendant to receive a fair trial.

At the hearing on the matter, petitioner's attorney testified that he went to the coroner's office and asked the deputy if the files contained a copy of Dr. Aagaard's autopsy report; that he was informed that a copy was in the files; that a copy was refused him and that his request for inspection was also refused.

After the hearing the court entered its order granting the petitioner the pretrial inspection of any written statements signed by petitioner and a copy of any recorded statements given by petitioner relating to the charges as set forth in the indictment. Otherwise the court denied the motion.

Petitioner then asked this court to compel the trial court to order pretrial inspection of the documents in the possession of the prosecution and the coroner, which the trial court had refused. Petitioner claims that if he is required to proceed to trial without the materials sought in his motion addressed to the trial court he will be deprived of procedural due process of law. In his brief filed in support of the petition, petitioner claims that he is entitled to the autopsy report as a matter of right, and that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant inspection of Diaz's statements and the report on the shoes made by the State Bureau.

We shall discuss each of these contentions separately.

The Autopsy Report

Petitioner contends that the autopsy report is a public document and he therefore is entitled to a copy of it as a matter of right. By Section 27491 of the Government Code the coroner has the duty to investigate the cause of death of any person reported to him as having been killed by violence or who has suddenly died under circumstances that afford a reasonable ground to suspect that his death has been occasioned by the act of another by...