Shank v. State

108 N.E. 521, 183 Ind. 298, 1915 Ind. LEXIS 59
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided April 14, 1915·No. No. 22,733·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

Spencer, J.

— Appellant, a licensed druggist, was tried and convicted on a charge of unlawfully selling intoxicating liquors. He appeals. The affidavit on which the prosecution is based alleges “that on the 13th day of September, 1913, at the county of Steuben, in the state of Indiana, one Erman Shank who Avas then and there a pharmacist, did then and there unlawfully sell unto Dick Johnson intoxicating liquor, to wit, one pint of whiskey, which sale was not upon the written prescription of a reputable physician in active practice of his profession. ’ ’

At the close of the evidence, the court instructed the jury that “This affidavit is based upon Section 8352 of the Revised Statutes of Indiana, which reads as follows: ‘ It shall be lawful for any druggist or physician to sell vinous or snirituous liquors in quantities not less than a quart, at a time for medicinal, industrial or scientific purposes, and for no other purposes, and then only upon the written (not printed or typewritten) prescription of a reputable physician in active practice, or upon the written and signed application of any other person who is personally known to such druggist or pharmacist and who is by him known not to be a person in the habit of using intoxicating liquors as a beverage, such person stating therein that such liquor is desired and will be used for medicinal, scientific or educational purposes only, and upon making such sale such druggist shall endorse in writing on such application a statement that in his opinion such liquor is desired for the purposes last above stated, and for no other purposes whateAer; or upon the written and signed application of the superintendent of any hospital or educational institution where such liquor is used solely for medicinal or scientific purposes; and in no case shall any liquor sold hereunder be permitted by such drug[301] gist or pharmacist to be drunk on the premises where sold. ’ ’ ’ The instruction further quotes the statute by setting out its provisions as to the filing and preserving of such prescriptions and applications and also by setting out the several penalties provided for therein, the minimum penalty for the first offense being a fine in the sum of $50. The jury found appellant guilty “as charged in the affidavit” and assessed as his punishment that he be fined in the sum of $50.

1. [302]*3022. [301] Appellant contends that under the facts of this case no prosecution could be maintained under the statute above quoted but could only be governed by §8334 Burns 1914, Acts 1895 p. 248, §9|, which reads as follows: “It shall be unlawful for any spirituous, vinous or malt liquors to be sold or given away in any drug store in any quantity less than a quart at a time, except .upon the written prescription of a reputable practicing physician. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be fined for the first offense the sum of $25,” etc. The statute last quoted was enacted by the General Assembly of 1895 as §9-|- of the so-called Nicholson Law, which manifestly made no effort to prohibit sales by druggists of intoxicating liquors in quart quantities or more, nor did it, in express terms, prohibit the refilling of prescriptions or require their filing, preservation or cancellation. In 1907 the General Assembly passed further legislation designed to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors and provided that “It shall be unlawful for any druggist or pharmacist to sell, barter or give away intoxicating liquor or liquors except on the written prescription of a reputable physician engaged in active practice of his profession. Any'physician issuing such a prescription shall date the same, and show thereon the full and true name of the person to whom it is issued, and said physician shall sign the same, giving his full .name and residence; the druggist or pharmacist selling such liquor or liquors thereon shall write on said prescription the date of [302] such sale, the full and true name of the person to whom such sale is made, and shall carefully file and preserve such prescription for two years from such date; such prescription shall be canceled by writing or stamping on it the word ‘canceled’, and no second or other subsequent sale shall be made on said prescription. Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall upon the first conviction be fined in any sum not less than fifty ($50) dollars nor more than two hundred dollars ($200), and for the second or any subsequent offense such person shall be fined in any sum not less than one hundred ($100) dollars nor more than five hundred ($500) dollars, to' which shall be added imprisonment in the county jail of not less than thirty days nor more than six months.” §8349 Burns 1914, Acts 1907 p. 27. This statute was §13 of an act approved February 13, 1907, and had as its evident purpose the prohibition of sales of intoxicating liquors by druggists, regardless of quantities, except on prescription of a reputable practicing physician. It necessarily limited such sales to those for medicinal purposes as the very nature of a physician’s prescription would exclude the idea of a scientific or mechanical use. The minimum penalty prescribed for a violation of §8334, supra, was a fine of $25 while that for the offense defined in the statute just set out is $50. Although repeals by implication are not favored still it is well settled that a later act, which covers the whole subject-matter of a former statute, adds offenses and prescribes different penalties -for those enumerated in the earlier law, must be construed as repealing the former enactment. State v. Christman (1879), 67 Ind. 328. The statutes under consideration fall within the rule just stated and it must be held that §8334, supra, was repealed by §8349, supra.

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Shank v. State, 108 N.E. 521, 183 Ind. 298, 1915 Ind. LEXIS 59 (Ind. 1915).

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