In re Koehne

The petitioner, Rudolph J. Koehne, was convicted by a jury in the Municipal Court of the Los Angeles Judicial District of three violations of section 41.27(a) of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (drunk in and about a public place), occurring on the 16th, 17th and 19th of July, 1960. He was sentenced to 50 days imprisonment in the city jail for each violation, the sentences to run consecutively.

The petitioner alleges that law enforcement officers denied him the right to call and obtain the services of a private physician for the purpose of withdrawing samples of blood and determining the alcoholic content thereof. Based on such allegations, and the contention that the denials of the alleged requests constitute a denial of due process of law (see In re Newbern, 175 Cal.App.2d 862 [ 1 Cal.Rptr. 80 ]), an order to show cause was issued and the petitioner was ordered released on bail in the sum of $500 pending the final determination of this proceeding. Counsel was appointed to represent the petitioner.

In the Newbern case it was held to be a denial of due process of law to refuse to permit a person charged with being drunk in a public place to call a doctor, at his own expense, to…