Reed v. State

Alabama Court of Appeals

Reed v. State

133 So. 745, 24 Ala. App. 243, 1931 Ala. App. LEXIS 246

CourtAlabama Court of Appeals

DecidedFebruary 10, 1931

Docket1 Div. 984.

StatusPublished

This text of 133 So. 745 (Reed v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alabama Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Reed v. State, 133 So. 745, 24 Ala. App. 243, 1931 Ala. App. LEXIS 246 (Ala. Ct. App. 1931).

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Opinion

SAMFORD, J.

The unexplained possession of any part or parts of any still, apparatus, or appliance, or any device or substitute tberefor commonly or generally used for, or that is suitable to be used in, the manufacture of prohibited liquors and beverages, is not a violation of law amounting to a crime, but such possession is prima facie evidence that tbe person so found in possession of the parts has in his possession the complete still, and proof of this fact beyond a reasonable doubt will authorize a conviction. Lindsey v. State, 18 Ala. App. 494, 93 So. 331.

It is true that the possession of a part of a still, etc., raises a rebuttable presumption, as was held in Bowden’s Case, 23 Ala. App. 215, 123 So. 107; but in order for tbe defendant to be entitled to affirmative instructions on' this point, tbe rebutting evidence must show that the defendant, though possessing a part of a still, did not possess the complete outfit. The case at bar presents a very different state of facts to that presented in tbe Bowden Case, supra.

The unexplained possession of a part of a still suitable to be used in the manufacture of whisky having been proven, tbe corpus delicti was sufficiently proven to admit proof of the defendant’s written confession.

Refused charge 1 invades the province ' of the jury.

AVe find no error in the record, and the judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed.

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SAMFORD, J.

The unexplained possession of any part or parts of any still, apparatus, or appliance, or any device or substitute tberefor commonly or generally used for, or that is suitable to be used in, the manufacture of prohibited liquors and beverages, is not a violation of law amounting to a crime, but such possession is prima facie evidence that tbe person so found in possession of the parts has in his possession the complete still, and proof of this fact beyond a reasonable doubt will authorize a conviction. Lindsey v. State, 18 Ala. App. 494, 93 So. 331.

It is true that the possession of a part of a still, etc., raises a rebuttable presumption, as was held in Bowden’s Case, 23 Ala. App. 215, 123 So. 107; but in order for tbe defendant to be entitled to affirmative instructions on' this point, tbe rebutting evidence must show that the defendant, though possessing a part of a still, did not possess the complete outfit. The case at bar presents a very different state of facts to that presented in tbe Bowden Case, supra.

The unexplained possession of a part of a still suitable to be used in the manufacture of whisky having been proven, tbe corpus delicti was sufficiently proven to admit proof of the defendant’s written confession.

Refused charge 1 invades the province ' of the jury.

AVe find no error in the record, and the judgment is affirmed.

Affirmed.

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133 So. 745, 24 Ala. App. 243, 1931 Ala. App. LEXIS 246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reed-v-state-alactapp-1931.

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