Appellate Review of Criminal Convictions on Appeal

Article VI, Section 42 of the Constitution of the State of California was adopted by the voters of California in its present form on November 3, 1914, having first been enacted on October 10, 1911.' This section incorporated into the constitution what had long been the accepted law of this State, exemplified by Section 475 of the Code of Civil Procedure and Penal Code Sections 1258 and 1404.2 Little has been written as to the reasons why the section was originally enacted. Reference is made to the report of the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco3 on the subject following the reversal of the judgment of conviction in People v. Schmitz4 and the order made by the supreme court grant-