Lewis v. Superior Court

217 Cal.App.3d 379 (1990)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was charged by indictment with one count of forgery in violation of section 470. D, a member of the California Assembly, directed members of his staff, and other political consultants working for the Republican Party under his supervision, to draft six letters supporting fellow Republican candidates for state legislative office. D counterfeited and forged the handwriting of former President Ronald Reagan and, sent the letter as true and genuine letters on behalf of certain candidates for the state Assembly to registered voters whose letters bore the counterfeit and forged signature and purported to be from President Ronald Reagan. D “forged” the signature to the letters and then passed them by mailing them. Each was printed on stationery bearing a White House letterhead and was signed by president Ronald Reagan. D knew that permission to use Reagan’s signature had been explicitly denied. Section 470 provides that any person who counterfeits or forges the handwriting of another, or passes or attempts to pass as true and genuine any false or forged document or instrument, knowing it to be false, with the intent to defraud any person, is guilty of forgery. D petitioned the court for a writ of prohibition in that the penal code does not address the falsification of a signature on a political endorsement. The court denied the motion and D appealed.