Derrick

The defendant was charged in an information consisting of three counts with the offenses denounced by section 337a of the Penal Code, in subdivisions 2, 3, and 4 thereof, the first count accusing him in effect of keeping a room with papers and paraphernalia for the purpose of recording wagers laid on horse-races, the second of holding or forwarding money wagered on horse-races, and the third of registering a wager upon a horse-race. The section of the code is not limited to this specific contest, but it would extend this opinion beyond proper length to define the offenses with greater particularity. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on each count, and sentence was pronounced upon the first count and suspended upon the second and third. The defendant appeals from the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial.

The grounds assigned in support of the appeal are four, as follows: (1) That the court erred in admitting expert testimony; (2) that the court erred in rejecting character testimony; (3) that error was committed by the curtailment of cross-examination; and (4) that the jury was incorrectly instructed.

With regard to the first assignment, certain slips…