Northcott

This is an appeal by the defendant from a conviction of murder in the second degree. A great number of alleged errors are urged by the attorneys for the appellant upon a record which leaves no doubt of the guilt of the defendant. [1] The first contention is that the jury was not instructed as to what constitutes the crime of murder. The court instructed the jury with reference to the crime of murder in the second degree, and that was all that was necessary under the facts of this ease. In the case of People v. Wright, 167 Cal. 5 , [ 138 Pac. 351 ], our supreme court has said: “Under our law, where death results from the performance of an unlawful abortion, the crime is murder in the second degree (Pen. Code, se.c. 189), so if the defendant thus charged rests simply upon a denial of the offense and no evidence of a lesser offense is before the court and jury, the instructions should go simply to murder in the second degree, and the verdict should be either guilty as charged or not guilty.” Instructions are to be given with reference to the facts of the case proved. (People v. Byrnes, 30 Cal. 206, 207 .)

[2] The next objections are to the introduction of certain photographs in…