Monreal
People v. Monreal
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Allen, J.
The defendant, convicted of the crime of perjury, appeals from the judgment and an order denying a new trial.
The perjury charge was false testimony in a certain divorce proceeding. This testimony which is claimed to be false is set out at great length in the information, and its falsity in every particular was averred and clearly established. Certain statements appearing in the information were material under the issues presented by the pleadings. The court charged the jury that unless it found such statements were testified to by defendant, and that they were false, that it should acquit. The effect of such charge could only be in the nature of an instruction that such statements only were material. ' The other charge, that if it found all of the statements contained in the information to have been false it should convict, could not prejudice the defendant, even were some of them immaterial; for if the material matters were false the charge is established, and the finding by the jury that other matters not material were also false could work no injury. For the same reason, the action of the court in admitting evidence of the brand of beer used and the price paid therefor was…