Gherna v. State

146 P. 494, 16 Ariz. 344, 1915 Ariz. LEXIS 147
CourtArizona Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 13, 1915
DocketCriminal No. 373
StatusPublished
Cited by60 cases

This text of 146 P. 494 (Gherna v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Arizona Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gherna v. State, 146 P. 494, 16 Ariz. 344, 1915 Ariz. LEXIS 147 (Ark. 1915).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The appellant, Louis Gherna, appeals from a judgment of conviction of selling intoxicating liquor, [348]*348to wit, a bottle of whisky, on . January 1, 1915, in violation of the prohibition amendment to the state Constitution. The initiative petition by the qualified electors of the state for the proposed amendment was filed with the Secretary of State on July 2, 1914. It was adopted by the electorate of the state at the 1914 November election and became law and a part of the Constitution on December 15, 1914, by proclamation of the Governor. It appeared in the Publicity Pamphlet, which was mailed'to the voters of the state, as follows :

“Proposed Amendment of the Constitution of the State of' Arizona.

“Prohibiting’ the introduction into, the manufacture of, and the giving, exchanging, bartering, selling or disposing of ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine or intoxicating liquors in the state of Arizona and prescribing a penalty for the violation thereof.

“Be it enacted by the people of the state of Arizona:

“That the Constitution of the state of Arizona be and is hereby amended by adding thereto another article the same to be numbered XXIII and to read as follows, to wit:

‘ ‘ Section 1. Ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor or liquors' of whatever kind shall not be manufactured in or introduced into the state of Arizona under any pretense. Every person-who sells, exchanges, gives, barters, or disposes of any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor of any kind to any person in the., state of Arizona, or who manufactures, or introduces into, or attempts to introduce into, the state of Arizona any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine, or intoxicating liquor of ,any kind, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than two years and fined not' less than twenty-five dollars and costs nor more than three hundred dollars and costs for each offense: Provided, that nothing in this amendment contained shall apply to the manufacture or sale of denatured alcohol.

.“See. 2. The legislature shall by appropriate legislation provide for the carrying into effect of this amendment.

“See. 3. This amendment shall take effect on and be in force on and after the first day of January, 1915.”

[349]*349It is the contention of appellant that this amendment (1) is not self-executing; (2) that if it is self-executing, it is confiscatory; and (3) that it violates the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution of the United States.

We are of the opinion that, by the terms of the amendment, it is self-executing. It denounces certain things and prescribes a penalty for doing them, or any of them. It is as complete and full as most criminal statutes that define crimes and prescribe penalties for their commission. But, upon the hypothesis that it is self-executing, it seems to be the contention of appellant that its self-executing feature is suspended or postponed, by virtue of section 2 thereof, until a time when “the legislature shall by appropriate legislation provide for the carrying into effect of this amendment.” This construction nullifies section 3, which should not be permitted, if possible. By it, it is provided that the “amendment shall take effect on, and be in force' on and after the first day of January, 1915.” Neither section 2 nor section 3 should be cast aside as so much “dead wood.” It may be admitted that the language used in these sections, if literally interpreted, is apparently subject to the criticism of contradicting itself. But the framer, and the people who adopted the amendment, must have inserted both sections with a clear vision of their separate purpose. The object sought was to stop the traffic in intoxicating beverages. The qualified voters were clothed with the power to accomplish that object. They could have announced, in the amendment, the principle of prohibition and stopped there, as many of the states have done, and left to the law-making bodies (themselves or the legislature) the duty of enacting laws defining the offense and fixing the penalties. But they did not do that. They not only announced the principle of prohibition, but entered the domain of legislation defining the offense and prescribing punishment, and fixed a date when it should be in force and effect, to wit, January 1, 1915. The purpose, then, of inserting in the amendment section 3, is evident. It cannot be mistaken. It means, if words are really the vehicle by which thoughts and ideas are conveyed, just what it says; i. e., that the amendment is in force on and after January 1, 1915. While the enacting clause printed at the head of the amend-ment was not necessary and is no part thereof, we think it [350]*350permissible and proper to look to it to aid us in ascertaining the intention of the electors in adopting the amendment. It conveys the idea of a self-operating law. It connotes prohibition of the things mentioned and punishment for violation thereof. The context amplifies and elaborates the title into positive, prohibitive, and penal law. While section 2 is a part of the amendment, we do not think it an essential part of it. Before discussing section 2, however, let us examine the amendment with it eliminated. With section 2 laid aside for the moment, the amendment in substance and effect would read:

“Ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine or intoxicating liquor or liquors Of whatever kind shall not be manufactured in or introduced into the state of Arizona under any pretense. Every person who sells, exchanges, gives, barters, or disposes of any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine or intoxicating liquors of any kind to any person in the state of Arizona, or who manufactures, or introduces into, or attempts to introduce into the state of Arizona, any ardent spirits, ale, beer, wine or intoxicating liquor of any kind, on or after January first, 1915, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, ’ ’ etc.

Having here suggested in concrete form what we conceive to be the meaning of the amendment as intended by the electorate when voting for it, we will now reinsert section 2 giving it number “3.” The transposition of sentences and sections in an enactment, in order to aid in construction, is no new or novel thing. As was said In re Bull’s Estate, 153 Cal. 715, 96 Pac. 366:

“The numbering of sections in statutes is a purely artificial and unessential arrangement, resorted to for purposes of convenience only, and can never be allowed to hinder a correct construction of the entire act.”

The changing of the position of section 2 from 2 to 3 does not change its meaning in the least, nor does it change the meaning of the whole amendment in the least. It does, however, aid in searching out the meaning of its authors. It makes plain that the amendment was a living, vital thing with a sting in it, on and after January 1, 1915. We have found, beyond a doubt, what sections 1 and 3 mean with section 2 eliminated for the moment. Do sections 1, 2, and 3 [351]*351mean the same thing that sections 1 and 3 mean ? Our answer is, “Yes.” Note the language of section 2:

“The legislature shall by appropriate legislation provide for the carrying into effect of this amendment. ’ ’

The last section of the state Constitution (section 21, article-22) , while not in the exact language of section 2, conveys the same idea and was doubtless inserted in the Constitution for the same purpose.

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Bluebook (online)
146 P. 494, 16 Ariz. 344, 1915 Ariz. LEXIS 147, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gherna-v-state-ariz-1915.