People v. Williams

The defendant was charged in an information filed in the Superior Court in and for the County of Fresno with a felony, to wit, the possession of a blackjack or slungshot. He was convicted, and from the judgment and an order denying his motion for a new trial has appealed.

The information was based on section 1 of chapter 323 of the Statutes of California (Stats. 1925, p. 542). The section provides that “Every person who . . . possesses any instrument or weapon commonly known as a blackjack, slungshot . . . shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof -shall be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than one year nor more than five years. ...” As grounds for the appeal it is contended that the evidence of the character of the instrument found in defendant’s possession was insufficient to justify the finding of the jury that the same was a blackjack or slung-shot, or to warrant a verdict of guilty; that the verdict was contrary to law in that there was no evidence upon which the jury could find that the defendant had possession of either a blackjack or slungshot as the same were defined in the court’s instructions to the jury, and that the jury was…