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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

Defendant John Kenneth Scoglio was found guilty of second degree robbery and granted probation by the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. The victim, George Galloway, was attacked shortly after midnight by two men who beat him, threatened his life, and took $1.75 from his pocket. Galloway flagged down a police officer shortly after the incident and directed him toward the assailants. The police detained defendant and another man, Rene De Resa, who were identified by Galloway at the scene. At trial, Galloway initially stated he could not identify defendant but later acknowledged prior identifications made shortly after the crime and at the preliminary hearing. Defendant and De Resa denied involvement, claiming they were walking home from a dance when stopped by police. The defense argued for acquittal based on prior juvenile court proceedings involving De Resa and challenged the sufficiency of evidence and identification procedures. The court ultimately granted probation to defendant, who appealed the conviction and the probation order.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the acquittal of co-defendant Rene De Resa in juvenile court bars prosecution or conviction of defendant Scoglio for the same criminal act under principles of res judicata.
  2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction, specifically focusing on the victim's failure to identify defendant at trial and the admissibility and significance of prior identifications.
  3. Whether defendant was entitled to counsel during the victim's on-the-scene identification shortly after the crime.
  4. Whether the prosecution suppressed evidence by failing to administer a sobriety test to the victim to assess his ability to make a reliable identification.

Arguments of the Parties

Defendant's Arguments

  • Defendant contended that he should be acquitted because the issues were already litigated in De Resa's juvenile court proceeding, which resulted in De Resa's acquittal, invoking res judicata principles.
  • He argued the evidence was insufficient for conviction since the victim failed to identify him at trial and prior identifications should only serve as impeaching, not substantive, evidence.
  • Defendant claimed he had a constitutional right to counsel at the victim's on-the-scene identification shortly after the crime.
  • He alleged the prosecution suppressed evidence by not administering a sobriety test to the victim, who had been drinking, which could have impaired the victim's ability to identify him reliably.

People's Arguments

  • The People argued that a judgment acquitting one defendant does not bar prosecution of another involved in the same criminal act, including when the prior proceeding was juvenile court.
  • They maintained that prior identifications by the victim were admissible as substantive evidence under Evidence Code section 1238.
  • The People asserted that no right to counsel exists for on-the-scene identifications immediately following a crime.
  • They contended that failing to administer a sobriety test to the victim did not constitute suppression of evidence, especially absent any showing of prejudice to defendant.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
People v. Collins, 242 Cal.App.2d 626, 634 Acquittal of one defendant does not bar prosecution of another for the same criminal act (res judicata does not apply). Used to reject defendant’s claim that De Resa’s juvenile court acquittal barred his prosecution.
Cal. Evid. Code, § 1238 Allows prior identifications by a witness to be admitted as substantive evidence if certain criteria are met. Supported admission of victim’s prior identifications shortly after the crime and at preliminary hearing as substantive evidence.
People v. Johnson, 68 Cal.2d 646 Invalidated use of prior inconsistent statements as substantive evidence under Evidence Code § 1235. Distinguished from current case because victim did not deny prior identifications; therefore, §1238 applied, not §1235.
People v. Colgain, 276 Cal.App.2d 118, 124-127 No constitutional right to counsel at on-the-scene identifications immediately after a crime. Supported court’s rejection of defendant’s claim to counsel at victim’s on-the-scene identification.
People v. Irvin, 264 Cal.App.2d 747, 759-760 Same as Colgain regarding right to counsel at pretrial identifications. Further confirmed no right to counsel at immediate on-the-scene identifications.
People v. Burns, 270 Cal.App.2d 238, 245-246 Same principle on right to counsel at pretrial identifications. Reinforced the court’s ruling on absence of right to counsel at on-the-scene identification.
People v. Noisey, 265 Cal.App.2d 543, 550 Failure to pursue every possible investigation does not constitute suppression of evidence absent prejudice. Supported court’s conclusion that no suppression occurred from failure to administer sobriety test to victim.
People v. Martin, (Cal.App.) 78 Cal.Rptr. 552 Same principle as Noisey regarding suppression of evidence and prejudice. Used to support ruling on lack of prejudice from alleged failure to test victim’s sobriety.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court first addressed defendant’s claim that De Resa’s juvenile court acquittal barred his prosecution, rejecting it based on established law that res judicata does not apply across defendants even for the same criminal act or transaction. The court then analyzed the sufficiency of evidence, emphasizing that prior identifications by the victim, made shortly after the crime and at the preliminary hearing, were admissible as substantive evidence under Evidence Code section 1238, since the victim did not deny making those identifications but rather acknowledged them. The court distinguished this from cases involving prior inconsistent statements inadmissible as substantive evidence under section 1235.

Further, the court found that even excluding the prior identifications, substantial circumstantial evidence supported the conviction: the victim’s later testimony, the timing and location of defendant and De Resa’s presence shortly after the crime on an otherwise deserted street, and the victim’s identification of De Resa as an assailant.

Regarding the right to counsel during the on-the-scene identification, the court held that constitutional protections do not extend to such immediate identifications following a crime, citing multiple precedents. Finally, the court rejected the argument that the prosecution suppressed evidence by failing to administer a sobriety test to the victim, concluding that no legal authority requires such a test for victims and that defendant failed to demonstrate any prejudice from this omission.

Holding and Implications

The court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court, including the order granting probation to defendant John Kenneth Scoglio.

The decision directly upholds defendant’s conviction and probation without setting new precedent beyond reaffirmation of existing principles regarding res judicata, admissibility of prior identifications, the scope of right to counsel at identification procedures, and standards for suppression of evidence claims. The ruling clarifies that juvenile court acquittals for co-defendants do not bar prosecution of others and confirms the substantive evidentiary value of prior identifications under section 1238.

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JOHN KENNETH SCOGLIO, Defendant and Appellant.

OPINION

JEFFERSON, Acting P.J.

The court found defendant guilty of robbery in the second degree and granted him probation. He appeals.

In defendant's in propria persona notice of appeal, he states that he is appealing "from the judgment of conviction, from the order denying the motion for a new trial, and from the order denying probation." As indicated, defendant was in fact granted probation. The order denying the motion for new trial is not appealable. We treat the notice of appeal as an appeal from the order granting probation, deemed a final judgment under Penal Code, section 1237, subdivision 1.

Shortly after midnight George Galloway was walking home when he was attacked by two men. They hit him with their fists and kicked him knocking him to the pavement. They told him to be quiet and not to move or they would kill him. They took $1.75 from his pocket and walked off down the street. As soon as they left Galloway got up. His nose and mouth were bleeding and his rib cage hurt. He proceeded to the corner and there flagged down a passing police car. He told the officer what had just happened and pointed down the street in the direction the two men were heading.

Officer Lamb was the officer Galloway flagged down. When Galloway told him what happened, Lamb called for a backup unit and then drove west, the direction Galloway said his assailants headed. The officer then spotted two men, defendant and Rene De Resa. They were headed west about four blocks down the street. No other persons were walking on the street at the time. The officer detained defendant and his companion for a few minutes until the backup police car arrived carrying Galloway. After Galloway identified them as the men who attacked him, they were placed under arrest.

On the question of identification, at the trial Galloway testified that he could not then identify defendant as one of his assailants; that "all teenagers look alike to me." Upon being further questioned by the prosecutor, he acknowledged that he had identified defendant and his companion when the police brought him to the place they were being detained shortly after the crime was committed. In response to questioning by the court, the witness stated that he had talked to defendant and his father before he had testified that morning; that he used to know defendant's father. He was then asked: "Q All right, now, will you tell me the words you spoke to the defendant? "A I told him, `Well, what happened to the other boy?'" The witness then added this comment: "The other boy was the one that hit me, not this boy." On cross-examination by defense counsel, Galloway indicated that he had been drinking at a bar with some friends earlier that evening and that the attack occurred shortly after he left the bar. On redirect examination it was elicited that the witness had identified defendant at the preliminary hearing. Officer Lamb's testimony followed. He indicated that Galloway positively identified defendant and De Resa when he was brought to the spot they were being detained shortly after the crime occurred.

After the People rested, the defense called De Resa as a witness. (As was the case with the other witnesses, De Resa was not permitted in the courtroom before being called to testify.) He denied any involvement in the crime and related that he and defendant were walking home from a dance when they were stopped by the officer. Another police officer then brought over a man he had never seen before. The man's nose was bleeding and he looked like he had been drinking. The man told the police that they had robbed him. Defendant then testified telling the same story as De Resa.

In rebutttal the prosecution again called Galloway. He testified that he recognized De Resa as "the one that beat me up." On cross-examination it was elicited that Galloway had testified against De Resa in a juvenile court proceeding brought against De Resa as the result of the same incident.

The defense then recalled De Resa. He testified that he was acquitted in the juvenile court proceeding.

Defendant first contends that he should have been acquitted because the issues had already been litigated in De Resa's juvenile court hearing where the court ruled in De Resa's favor. The argument lacks merit. (1) It is well settled that where the same criminal act or transaction gives rise to criminal liability in more than one defendant, a judgment acquitting one defendant does not operate as res judicata in the prosecution of another defendant. ( People v. Collins, 242 Cal.App.2d 626, 634 [51 Cal.Rptr. 604]; 1 Witkin, Cal. Crimes (1963), § 223, pp. 212-213; 9 A.L.R.3d, p. 218.) The same rule obviously applies where a juvenile court proceeding is involved.

(2a) Defendant further contends that the evidence of guilt is insufficient because the victim failed to identify him at the trial and the evidence of his previous on-the-scene and preliminary hearing identifications had legal significance only as impeaching evidence and not as substantive evidence. (3) Contrary to the basic premise for defendant's argument, the evidence of the prior identifications was admissible as substantive evidence. Section 1238 of the Evidence Code provides: "Evidence of a statement previously made by a witness is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule if the statement would have been admissible if made by him while testifying and: (a) The statement is an identification of a party or another as a person who participated in a crime or other occurrence; (b) The statement was made at a time when the crime or other occurrence was fresh in the witness' memory; and (c) The evidence of the statement is offered after the witness testifies that he made the identification and that it was a true reflection of his opinion at that time." Both the testimony of Officer Lamb that the victim identified defendant shortly after the robbery, and the cross-examination testimony of the victim that he identified him then and at the preliminary hearing, met the criteria of admissibility set out in section 1238

The case of People v. Johnson, 68 Cal.2d 646 [ 68 Cal.Rptr. 599, 441 P.2d 111], cited by defendant, has no application. There the court held unconstitutional Evidence Code, section 1235, insofar as it purported to authorize the use, as substantive evidence, of prior, extrajudicial, inconsistent statements of a trial witness. Section 1235 was not involved here, however. As indicated, the witness Galloway did not deny having made the prior identifications but rather admitted making them. Under such circumstances, the applicable section is section 1238, not section 1235 (See Law Revision Commission Comment to Evid. Code, § 1238)

(2b) Even without considering the evidence of the victim's pretrial identifications, substantial evidence was presented to support defendant's conviction. Notwithstanding the initial statement of the witness that he could not identify defendant, his later testimony on cross-examination supports the conclusion that defendant was indeed one of his assailants. (See above statement of the facts.) On top of this evidence, the victim was later recalled and testified that defendant's companion was one of the robbers. Defendant and the companion were observed walking on the otherwise deserted street in the direction the victim said his assailants were headed about four blocks away and only minutes after the crime. These circumstances clearly support the inference that defendant was the other robber. (4) Contrary to defendant's assertion, he had no right to the presence of counsel when the victim identified him at the scene where he was being detained minutes after the crime. The constitutional right of a suspect to counsel at pretrial confrontations with alleged victims or witnesses to crime does not extend to such on-the-scene confrontations. ( People v. Colgain, 276 Cal.App.2d 118, 124-127 [ 80 Cal.Rptr. 659]; People v. Irvin, 264 Cal.App.2d 747, 759-760 [ 70 Cal.Rptr. 892]; People v. Burns, 270 Cal.App.2d 238, 245-246 [ 75 Cal.Rptr. 688].)

(5) Defendant's final argument is that the People were guilty of suppressing evidence because the arresting officer failed to give the victim a sobriety test to determine if his ability to make an identification was impaired by intoxication. The evidence indicates that the victim had been drinking. The officer testified that the victim appeared intoxicated but that he could not smell anything on his breath. He also testified that his mouth was bleeding. Defendant's companion testified that he asked the officer to give the victim a sobriety test when the victim first identified them, but that the officer refused. The officer testified that he did not recall that such a request was made; that he did not however, administer any test. (6) An officer with probable cause to arrest on charges involving intoxication, has legal justification to require the suspect to take a sobriety test. But we know of no authority which would permit the administering of such a test to the victim of a crime as part of an investigation. In any event, "The mere fact investigating officers do not pursue every possible means of investigation does not, standing alone, constitute . . . a suppression of evidence. A failure to look for evidence is quite different from suppressing known evidence, but in either case the defendant must demonstrate that he has been prejudiced thereby." ( People v. Noisey, 265 Cal.App.2d 543, 550 [ 71 Cal.Rptr. 339]. See also People v. Martin, (Cal.App.) 78 Cal.Rptr. 552.) No prejudice is shown here.

A hearing was granted by the Supreme Court on August 13, 1969. The opinion of that court is reported in 2 Cal.3d 822 [ 87 Cal.Rptr. 709, 471 P.2d 29].

The judgment (order granting probation) is affirmed.

Kingsley, J., and Dunn, J., concurred.

Appellant's petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied February 18, 1970.

HEARING GRANTED
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PEOPLE v. SCOGLIO
(Dec 24, 1969)