Moore

Defendant, Patricia Gallagher Moore, appeals from a judgment of conviction of manslaughter and from an order denying her motion for a new trial. (Defendant was charged by information with the crime of murder; the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter.)

Defendant, Mrs. Moore, and the deceased, Dr. Telford I. Moore, were married in 1941. Each had been previously married and each had a child by the former marriage. Mrs. Moore's daughter, Antonia Thomas, was 15 years of age; Dr. Moore's son, Thomas, was 16 years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Moore had a son, Timmy, aged 8. In 1946, after Dr. Moore's term of military duty was at an end, the couple moved to California where Dr. Moore opened an office for the practice of ophthalmology. The couple, together with the children, lived in the rear of the office for about 15 months. Mrs. Moore worked in the office, under her maiden name, and in the home, caring for the family. In 1948, due to long hours of work and abusive treatment from her husband, Mrs. Moore had a nervous breakdown and was under the care of three psychiatrists who gave her "shock" treatments. Defendant ceased work at that time for three months but Dr. Moore brought…

Defendant, Patricia Gallagher Moore, appeals from a judgment of conviction of manslaughter and from an order denying her motion for a new trial. (Defendant was charged by information with the crime of murder; the jury returned a verdict of manslaughter.)

*519 Defendant, Mrs. Moore, and the deceased, Dr. Telford I. Moore, were married in 1941. Bach had been previously married and each had a child by the former marriage. Mrs. Moore’s daughter, Antonia Thomas, was 15 years of age; Dr. Moore’s son, Thomas, was 16 years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Moore had a son, Timmy, aged 8. In 1946, after Dr. Moore’s term of military duty was at an end, the couple moved to California where Dr. Moore opened an office for the practice of ophthalmology. The couple, together with the children, lived in the rear of the office for about 15 months. Mrs. Moore worked in the office, under her maiden name, and in the home, caring for the family. In 1948, due to long hours of work and abusive treatment from her husband, Mrs. Moore had a nervous breakdown and was under the care of three psychiatrists who gave her “shock” treatments. Defendant ceased work at that time for three months but Dr. Moore brought home…

I dissent. In my opinion, examination of the entire record in this case impels the conclusion that no error of any substance appears, that the evidence strongly supports the verdict, and that no miscarriage of justice has occurred.

Much of the lengthy reporter’s transcript is devoted to a picture of the domestic relations of defendant and Dr. Moore prior to the killing of Dr. Moore on May 6, 1952. The discord between them increased after defendant returned from Hawaii in July, 1951, instituted her separate maintenance action against Dr. Moore, and hired detectives to follow Dr. Moore and to obtain recorded evidence against him. It appears unnecessary to recount details of the various verbal and physical altercations between defendant and Dr. Moore which appear in the record and a number of which are referred to in the majority opinion.

It may be mentioned that the majority opinion states, “A former police officer, Sawyer, testified that he had given her the gun [which defendant thereafter used to shoot Dr. . Moore] when he saw, on her person, evidence of a beating *532 administered by the deceased and after she had told him that her husband had threatened to do away with her.”…