Matter of Application of Wilson

The petitioner is held in custody by the sheriff of Los Angeles County under a commitment issued out of the superior court. The commitment has been issued pursuant to a judgment pronounced against petitioner in a criminal action, and requiring that he be punished by imprisonment in the state prison. Petitioner’s claim that the commitment is illegal and void is based upon the proposition that the information in the action does not charge a public offense.

The accusation set forth in the information was that the defendant committed the crime of presenting false proofs in support of a claim upon a policy of insurance; the policy in question being one of insurance against accident. If any offense is charged against the petitioner by that information, it must be an offense coming within the terms of section 549 of the Penal Code. If that section does not include the presentation of a false or fraudulent claim, or proofs in support of such claim upon a contract of accident insurance, then the information states no criminal offense. Sections 548 and 549 are contained in chapter XI of title XIII, part I, of the Penal Code. The chapter heading and section headings pertinent to this…