Douglas v. State

52 N.E. 238, 21 Ind. App. 302, 1898 Ind. App. LEXIS 657
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided December 15, 1898·No. No. 2,845·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Black, C. J.

Under the provision of the statute, section 7285, Burns’ R. S. 1894 (5320, Horner’s R. S. 1897), that “any person, not being licensed according to the provisions of this act, who shall sell or barter, directly or indirectly, any spirituous, vinous, or malt liquors in a less quantity than a quart at a time, * * * shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,” etc., the appellant was indicted for a sale of “intoxicating liquors, to wit, beer,” and was convicted. The overruling of appellant’s motion for a new 'trial is the only alleged error discussed before us. The evidence showed that the liquor was sold as and under the name óf “hop ale,” from a bottle having thereon a label bearing that name. There [303] was evidence (contradicted by other evidence) that the liquor was, in fact, beer, and that it was intoxicating. The court, in one of its instructions, adopting a definition approved in Myers v. State, 93 Ind. 251, stated that “beer,” in the estimation of the law, is fermented liquor, made from any malted grain, with hops or other bitter flavoring matter. In the same instruction the court indicated to the jury that only a sale of beer as charged in the indictment could sustain a verdict of guilty. In a subsequent instruction, to which objection is made, the court said: “It is claimed by the defendant that the liquor on the occasion referred to in the indictment was hop ale, which is not intoxicating. As heretofore stated, the question for you to determine is not whether hop ale was sold, or whether hop ale is intoxicating, or whether beer is intoxicating, but your attention must-be directed to the fact whether the liquor called hop alé was, in fact, beer, and whether it was sold ‘ as charged in the indictment.” It is provided by the statute, section 1211, Burns’ R. S. 1891 (5313, Horner’s R. S. 1891), that “the words ‘intoxicating liquor’ shall apply to any spirituous, vinous, or malt liquor, or to any intoxicating liquor whatever, which is -used or may be used as a beverage.” “When in an act, it is declared that it shall receive a certain construction, the courts are bound by that construction, though otherwise the language would have been held to mean a different thing.” Smith v. State, 28 Ind. 321, 325; State, ex rel., v. Harrison, 116 Ind. 300, 306; Black Interp. of Laws, 191. In Wiles v. State, 33 Ind. 206, concerning proof that the liquor sold was ale, it was said: “The statute declares, that the words ‘intoxicating liquors’ as used in the act apply to any spirituous, vinous, or malt liquors, etc., and the courts will judicially recognize the fact that ale is a [304] malt liquor, and its sale by retail inhibited, without a license.” The courts take judicial notice that whisky, beer and gin are intoxicating. Wasson v. First Nat. Bank, 107 Ind. 206, 219; State v. Jones, 3 Ind. App. 121. In Myers v. State, supra, it was said, that when a witness testifies to the sale or giving away of beer, under circumstances which make a sale or giving away of intoxicating liquor unlawful, “the prima facie inference is that the beer was of that malted and fermented quality declared by the statute to be an intoxicating liquor, and the court trying the cause ought to take judicial notice of the inference which thus arises from the use of the word ‘beer’ in its primary and general sense;” that, under the statute, “malt liquor must be held to be an intoxicating liquor,” and that the word “beer,” as used in ordinary parlance, is to be taken, as matter of law, in its primary meaning of a malt liquor. See, also, Mullen v. State, 96 Ind. 304; Stout v. State, 96 Ind. 407; Dant v. State, 106 Ind. 79. In Welsh v. State, 126 Ind. 71, the affidavit charged a sale of “beer” without alleging that it was intoxicating, or that it was malt beer. It was held that the affidavit charged a sale of “malt liquor, which is declared by our statute to be within the words ‘intoxicating liquor.’” There was evidence in the case now before us that the liquor sold was “hop ale,” and was not, in fact, intoxicating, and some witnesses testified that it was not beer. There was no evidence otherwise that it was not of malted and fermented quality. The testimony that it was beer furnished evidence that it was a malt liquor, and the jury, by the verdict of “Guilty as charged in the indictment,” found that it was beer; and, under the statute, a sale of beer, — that is, of malt liquox*, — as described in the indictment, is unlawful. The statute says, in effect, that any malt [305] liquor must be regarded as a liquor whose sale as described in the indictment is punishable. The mere question, then, as to whether beer is an intoxicating liquor, is not one for the determination of the jury in a case arising under this statute. If the court, as matter of law, must know that beer is a malt liquor, it is not necessary to a conviction for the jury, besides finding a sale of beer, to find also, as a matter of fact, that beer — that is, malt liquor — is intoxicating. Upon an examination of the evidence as to its sufficiency, and of the instructions given and those refused, we do not find any available error or any matter which seems to be of sufficient importance for further discussion.

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Douglas v. State, 52 N.E. 238, 21 Ind. App. 302, 1898 Ind. App. LEXIS 657 (Ind. Ct. App. 1898).

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