Harris v. State

1942 OK CR 29, 122 P.2d 401, 74 Okla. Crim. 13, 1942 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 203
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedFebruary 11, 1942
DocketNo. A-9873.
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 1942 OK CR 29 (Harris v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. State, 1942 OK CR 29, 122 P.2d 401, 74 Okla. Crim. 13, 1942 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 203 (Okla. Ct. App. 1942).

Opinion

JONES, J.

S. O. Harris was charged in the district court of Pottawatomie county by information, in two counts, with the unlawful importation of intoxicating liquor, a jury was waived, the defendant was convicted, and sentenced to serve three months in the county jail and pay a fine of $250 and costs of prosecution on each count, and has appealed to this court.

This case was tried upon a stipulation as to the facts, and the only contention presented by counsel for defendant in this court is that the court erred in not sustaining his demurrer to the information, for the reason that the act upon which the information herein was based is unconstitutional.

It is contended that chapter 16, Session Laws 1939, 37 O.S. 1941 §§ 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, is unconstitutional for the following reasons:

1. . Because said statute does not grant equal protection of the law to all citizens, for the reason that it makes the importation of liquor into' Oklahoma a felony, whereas the general laws make the transportation of liquor only a misdemeanor.

2. It is contended that said act violates an alleged! constitutional right of the defendant to import liquor for his personal use.

*17 3. It is contended that said act is violative of the provisions of the constitution relating to' intoxicating liquors, in that the Legislature attempts to authorize the importation of intoxicating liquor, other than as specifically authorized by the constitution.

These questions, and others of similar import, have been before the United States District Courts of Oklahoma and Arkansas and the Circuit Courts of Appeal of the Eighth and Tenth Circuits. In all of these casesi the federal courts have uniformly sustained the constitutionality of this legislative act. Hayes v. United States, 10 Cir., 112 F. 2d 417; Hinkle v. United States, 8 Cir., 115 F. 2d 217; Hastings v. United States, 8 Cir., 115 F. 2d 216; Reynolds v. United States, 8 Cir., 115 F. 2d 216; Epps v. United States, 10 Cir., 112 F. 2d 931.

The act herein involved (chapter 16, Session Laws of Oklahoma, 1939, generally known as the Liquor Permit Law) was passed by the Oklahoma Legislature in' 1939 in order to secure the protection of the federal government in the state’s effort to prevent the importation or transportation of liquor into1 Oklahoma, a dry state.

Prior to the passage of the 1939 act, it had been held that the federal liquor enforcement act, 27 U.S.C.A. §' 221 et seq., is inapplicable to Oklahoma, for the reason that the act makes importation or transportation of liquor into a dry state a federal offense only when such state prohibits all such importation or transportation by its laws or requires permits or licenses to accompany liquor lawfully imported. Dunn v. United States, 10 Cir., 98 F.2d 119, 117 A.L.R. 1302.

Since this prosecution was instituted in the district court of Pottawatomie county, the federal decisions above named have been promulgated. In the case of Hayes v. United States, supra, in an áble opinion by Judge Phillips, *18 the contentions herein urged by counsel are fully discussed. Said opinion cites as authority many decisions of this court in disposing of the constitutional questions there involved.

In this case the following propositions of law are stated, as shown by the syllabus in the Federal Reporter:

“Section of Oklahoma statute prohibiting the importation of liquor without a permit was embraced in title of the statute which recited that it was a statute creating and providing for permit system for importation and transportation of intoxicating’ liquor containing, more than 4 per cent, of alcohol by volume, into' the state for scientific, sacramental, medicinal, or mechanical purposes, and forbidding importation of 'such liquor’ without permit, the quoted words referring to intoxicating liquor, regardless of purpose for which it was1 imported.”
“The purpose of the Oklahoma statute relating to' importation of intoxicating liquor was to provide for importation under permit system for certain limited and specified purposes only, and a provision prohibiting importation without permit for all purposes was essential to make the act effective and was referable and cognate to the subject expressed in the title which recited that the act created and provided for permit system for importation and transportation of liquor into1 the state for scientific, sacramental, medicinal, or mechanical purposes, and forbade importation of such liquor without a permit.”
“The fixing of penalties for crime is a legislative function, and what constitutes an adequate penalty is a matter of legislative judgment and discretion, and courts will not interfere therewith unless penalty prescribed is clearly and manifestly cruel and unusual.”
“The Oklahoma statute forbidding importation of intoxicating liquor into the state without a permit, which provides punishment by fine of not less than $50 nor more than $2,000 and by imprisonment for not less than 30 days in county jail, nor more than five years in state *19 penitentiary, is not unconstitutional on ground that statute imposes cruel or unusual punishment.’ ”
“The equal protection clause of Federal Constitution does not prohibit legislative classification, but such a classification must be reasonable, and not arbitrary, and must be based upon a difference having a fair and substantial relation to the object of legislation.”
“If any state of facts reasonably can be conceived that would sustain a legislative classification, a presumption exists that the state of facts exists, and one who assails the classification must show that the action is arbi-rary.”
“Parties who attacked constitutionality of Oklahoma statute relating to importation of intoxicating liquor failed to sustain burden of proving unreasonableness of legislative classification which resulted in more severe penalty for importing liquor than for transporting liquor within the state.”
“The Oklahoma statute imposing penalty for importing and transporting intoxicating liquor into the state, which is more severe than penalty imposed for transporting liquor within the state, is not violative of ‘equal protection’ clause of Federal Constitution, in view of reasonable basis for the classification which bears fair and substantial relation to the object sought toi be attained by the act.”
“Under 21st Amendment to' Federal Constitution, the state may wholly prohibit transportation or importation of intoxicating liquor into the state, or may forbid all importations which do not comply with conditions which the state prescribes regardless of how the state may deal with or regulate transportation of intoxicatingl liquor within its boundaries, without violating the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to' Federal Constitution.”

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Related

Cyrus v. Vierson & Cochran, Inc.
631 P.2d 1349 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1981)
Cunningham v. State
1979 OK CR 91 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1979)
Brumbelow v. State
1971 OK CR 333 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1971)
Hirsh v. Oklahoma City
1951 OK CR 98 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1951)
Corbett-Barbour Drilling Co. v. Hanna
1950 OK 200 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1950)
Ex Parte Lee
1949 OK CR 22 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1949)
Ex Parte Strauch
1945 OK CR 31 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1945)

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Bluebook (online)
1942 OK CR 29, 122 P.2d 401, 74 Okla. Crim. 13, 1942 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 203, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-state-oklacrimapp-1942.