People v. Abrams

From a judgment of guilty of violating section 337a, subdivision 1, of the Penal Code, after trial before the court without a jury, defendant appeals. There is also an appeal from the order denying defendant’s motion for a new trial.

The evidence being viewed in the light most favorable to the People (respondent), the essential facts are:

July 24, 1942, police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department entered a cocktail bar of the Ritz Hotel in Los Angeles. In an adjacent hallway near a telephone booth they observed several persons, among whom was defendant, reading scratch sheets and…