Harband

The grand jury of San Diego County returned an indictment against the defendant charging him in count one with grand theft, in count two with a violation of the Corporate Securities Act (Stats. 1917, p. 673), for having sold securities without a license, and in count three with violation of the same statute in acting as a broker and conducting a brokerage business without a license. At the close of the testimony offered by the prosecution the second count of the indictment was dismissed. Verdicts of guilty were returned by the jury upon the other two counts. The defendant made a motion for a new trial, which was granted “on the ground of the insufficiency of the evidence. ’ ’ The People prosecute this appeal from the order granting the new trial.

The complaining witness as to count one was Carl Fuhrken. It is to be noted that the district attorney, as well as counsel for the defense, elicited the larger share of the testimony of this witness by asking leading questions. It is also observed that this witness, who gave the most damaging testimony against the respondent, contradicted himself on several occasions. During the examination of his divorced wife, a graduate nurse, it…