People v. McCaughan

In People v. McCaughan (1957) 49 Cal.2d 409, the court considered the validity (alleged vagueness) of the provisions of Penal Code section 361 which provides: "Every person guilty of any harsh, cruel, or unkind treatment of, or any neglect of duty towards, any idiot, lunatic, or insane person, is guilty of a misdemeanor." The court found that the words "harsh" and "unkind" were used to define criminal offenses so vague as to be held void. However, the Supreme Court with regard to the remainder of the statute, stated that the unconstitutional provisions relating to harsh and unkind treatment were severable from the provisions relating to "cruel" treatment and "neglect of duty" and that the balance of the statute was constitutionally valid: "Since the dominant purpose of the statute to protect insane persons can be affected by elimination of the severable unconstitutional provisions, the constitutional provisions may stand alone and remain enforced. Citation omitted. We conclude, therefore, that insofar as it provides that persons guilty of any '. . . cruel . . . treatment of, or any neglect of duty towards, any idiot, lunatic or insane person . . .' is guilty of a misdemeanor, section 361 is a valid statute."