Carswell v. Wright

66 S.E. 905, 133 Ga. 714, 1910 Ga. LEXIS 31
CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
DecidedJanuary 11, 1910
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 66 S.E. 905 (Carswell v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carswell v. Wright, 66 S.E. 905, 133 Ga. 714, 1910 Ga. LEXIS 31 (Ga. 1910).

Opinion

Evans, P. J.

John S. Carswell, a citizen of Richmond county, engaged in the business of selling at retail what is popularly known as “near beer” and other soft drinks, filed his petition against the comptroller-general, and the ordinary and sheriff of Richmond county, to restrain the enforcement of the act approved September 5, 1908 (Acts 1908, p. 1112), entitled: “An act to provide a revenue to be used for the development and conduct of the penitentiary system of the State, and to buy farm lands and equipment as may be needed in connection with the management, control, and employment of the convicts of this State, by requiring a license to be obtained by all persons, firms, of corporations manufacturing or selling in this State, or maintaining therein supply depots or places for distribution, any imitation of or substitute for beer, ale, wine, whisky, or other spirituous or malt liquors; to prescribe the terms and conditions on which such licenses may issue and the amounts to be paid therefor; to prohibit the carrying on of any business) for which such license is required without obtaining such license; to provide penalties for violations of this act; to provide for the forfeiture of the licenses provided for in this act when the same are used as a cloak for the violation of the law; and to appropriate the money raised hereunder, and for other purposes.” His petition was dismissed on demurrer, and he excepts.

1. The plaintiff’s basis for an injunction is the alleged unconstitutionality of the act of September 5, 1908. His petition embodies substantially all the allegations, respecting the alleged grounds,of unconstitutionality of the act, as were contained in the petition of Carroll v. Wright, and adjudicated by this court in that case, which is reported in 131 Ga. 728 (63 S. E. 260). Counsel for the plaintiff in error asks to review and overrule that case, but on consideration of the motion we decline to do so. In addition to the points foreclosed by the decision in Carroll v. Wright, other attacks were made on the constitutionality of the act, which we will proceed to notice

2. The 1st and 2d sections of the act approved September 5, 1908, exact of all manufacturers of or dealers in substitutes for beer, ale, etc., a license tax of $500, and the 3d section exacts of retailers of such imitation intoxicants a license tax of $200. The 8th section is as follows: “that any person who shall sell, or furnish, keep, or give away, under color of the license herein required, [716]*716any liquor, drink, or beverage prohibited by law shall, in addition to any penalty which he may otherwise be liable to, forfeit said license and be forever disqualified from holding any such license or being in the employment of any person holding such license; and any person holding such license, who shall knowingly employ any person so disqualified, shall forfeit his license and be in like manner disqualified.” It is contended that the provision of the 8th section, construed in connection with the other sections, violates the constitution, art. 1, sec. 1, par. 2, 3 (Civil Code, §§5699, 5700), and the 14th amendment to the constitution of the United States, 'in that it imposes forfeitures and penalties on persons engaged in the business referred to in the act which are not imposed on other legitimate businesses, and for these reasons persons engaged in selling imitation beers are not afforded an impartial protection of the laws, and are deprived of their property without due process of law.

Even if we should concede that the 8th section of the act is void and inoperative because of its' conflict with the constitution as claimed, it by no means follows that the whole act is void. The general purpose of the act is to raise revenue for the development and maintenance of the penitentiary system, by the levying of an occupation tax upon manufacturers and dealers in imitation intoxicants. If the 8th section were entirely eliminated, the legislative scheme would not be impaired in any material feature. It is a well-established principle that unless the main purpose of the statute is affected by the unconstitutionality of a particular provision, the whole act is not thereby defeated. Irvin v. Gregory, 86 Ga. 605 (13 S. E. 120). The complainant is not now in a position to raise the point that the 8th section is unconstitutional, apart from its effect on the whole act. At the time of filing his petition he had paid no license; and the ground of complaint is that it is illegal to exact a license tax of him, because of the alleged uneonstitutionality of the law as a whole which imposes the license tax. No officer of this state is proceeding against him to enforce any penalty or forfeiture. As was said in Scoville v. Calhoun, 76 Ga. 263, "When the law operates upon the private property of an individual, and it is seized, destroyed, or confiscated, or the individual is indicted for a violation of such law, he may assail the portion thereof affecting his private property or personal liberty as unconstitu[717]*717tional, and the courts will make such an adjudication as will maintain the integrity of the law as a whole, if possible, and, at the same time, protect the citizen against any unconstitutional or illegal portions of the law, if there be such. Laws will,, never be declared unconstitutional except in case of necessity; and the courts will wait until the law is attempted to be put in operation, and will not, in advance thereof, declare the entire law unconstitutional on the ground that a portion of it is so attacked.”

3. It is also contended that the 8th section of the act applies to retail dealers of imitation beers, etc., and not to wholesale dealers and manufacturers of imitation intoxicants, and violates the constitution, art. 7, sec. 2, par. 1 (Civil Code, §5883), because the act does not deal uniformly with all persons liable under it for taxes on their occupations. Apparently this section applies alike to whoJesale and retail dealers, and also to manufacturers of imitation intoxicants. If we give the construction contended for by the plaintiff in error, that its terms are applicable only to dealers, it would not offend the particular clause of the constitution with which it is contended that it militates, because in the imposition of taxes different terms are imposed upon different classes of people who are subject to its terms. For instance, it is perfectly competent for the legislature to impose different amounts as taxes upon wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers, and the classification would be reasonable; so also any proper differentiation between manufacturers and dealers would also be a reasonable classification. We do not think the act unconstitutional on this ground.

4.

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Bluebook (online)
66 S.E. 905, 133 Ga. 714, 1910 Ga. LEXIS 31, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carswell-v-wright-ga-1910.