Shaw v. Orem City

214 P.2d 888, 117 Utah 288, 1950 Utah LEXIS 110
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 20, 1950
DocketNo. 7376
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 214 P.2d 888 (Shaw v. Orem City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shaw v. Orem City, 214 P.2d 888, 117 Utah 288, 1950 Utah LEXIS 110 (Utah 1950).

Opinion

McDonough, justice.

The question for decision is whether an ordinance of Orem City, Utah, which prohibits the sale of beer on Sunday is a valid enactment. The ordinance provides:

“It shall be unlawful for any persons to engage in the business of the sale of light beer at retail in bottles or on draught within the corporate limits of Orem City on the first day of the week commonly called Sunday.”

The action was commenced below under the provision of the Declaratory Judgments Statute, Chapter 64 of Title 104, U. C. A. 1943. The plaintiff, a retailer of draught and bottled beer, thereby asked that the ordinance be declared invalid. From an adverse judgment, he appeals.

The case was presented below upon a stipulation of facts, the pertinent stipulations being that for many years prior to May 29, 1947 the sale and offering for sale of beer was permitted and was lawful on Sunday, and that there are within the corporate limits of Orem City approximately ten licensed beer dealers all but two of which have draught beer licenses. That there are within the corporate limits of Orem City a great number of other businesses, including retail stores, all of which may, and many of which do operate in the usual manner on Sunday. By his principal assignments of error, appellant contends in effect (1) that the provisions of Sec. 15-8-84, U. C. A. 1943, do not authorize or permit the enactment of the ordinance in question and (2) if such section were construed as to grant respondents’ authority so to do it would be violative of certain sections of Article I of the Constitution of the State of [291]*291Utah and of the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Con-, stitution of the United States. The.sections of Article I of the Constitution of the State of Utah claimed to be involved are: Sections 1 and 2 dealing with the right to acquire, possess and protect property; Section 24 providing that all laws of a general nature shall have uniform operation; and Section 7 which is the “due process” clause. The due process clause and equal protection clause of Amendment XIV of the Constitution of the United States, are likewise invoked.

Sec. 15-8-84, U. C. A. 1943, referred to by appellant, confers upon cities the power to enact such ordinances and regulations

“as are necessary and proper to provide for the safety and preserve the health, and promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace and good order, comfort and convenience of the city and the inhabitants thereof * *

Appellant contends that since the sale of light beer (beer containing not more than 3.2 percentum of alcohol by weight) at retail is legal, the ordinance in singling out that one commodity and prohibiting its sale on Sunday is not designed to effect the purposes for which the police power is by Sec. 15-8-84 granted to municipalities.

In so far as delegation of power is involved, appellant’s argument overlooks a specific grant of power contained in the Liquor Control Act of 1935. Sec. 46-0-131, U. C. A. 1943, provides:

“Retail Licenses.
“Cities and towns within their corporate limits, and counties outside of incorporated cities and towns shall have power to license, tax, regulate or prohibit the sale of light beer, at retail, in bottles or draft; * *

The constitutionality of the foregoing enactment is not assailed by appellant. We assume, therefore, that it is not questioned, nor could it well be. In Riggins et al. v. District [292]*292Court, 89 Utah 183, 51 P. 2d 645, 657, the constitutionality of various provisions of the Liquor Control Act was attacked by plaintiffs, against whom the State Liquor Control Commission was seeking writs of injunction to restrain them from selling light beer without procuring the licenses required by the act. The section of the act prescribing qualifications of licenses and limiting the number of licenses for the sale of draft beer which might be granted in cities according to the population thereof, were among the sections of the act assailed. It was urged by plaintiffs that light beer is not an intoxicating liquor, and therefore doctrines applicable to the control of intoxicants could not validly be applied to control or restrict its sale. In answer to such contention this court said:

“Because of the foregoing and other provisions of the Liquor Control Act, plaintiffs contend that light beer is not an intoxicating liquor and was not so regarded by the Legislature at the time the act was passed. Nowhere in the act is it declared that light beer is nonintoxicating. The authority of the state to control and regulate the sale and use of light beer as defined in the act does not depend upon its being characterized by the act as intoxicating. The authority of the state under its police power to regulate the manufacture and use of light beer is to be determined by the nature of such beer rather than by the general characterization given to it by the lawmaking body. The police power of the state to regulate the manufacture, sale, and use of intoxicating liquors is not limited to liquors which are in fact intoxicating, but extends to kindred nonintoxicating liquors. 33 C. J. 491; Jacob Ruppert v. Caffey, 251 U. S. 264, 40 S. Ct. 141, 64 L. Ed. 260; that light beer as defined in the act under review, even if nonintoxicating in fact, is a proper subject for the exercise of the police power of the state, cannot be seriously doubted.”

That the state may prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors is too well settled to require citation of authority. It may delegate such power to cities. State v. Briggs, 46 Utah 288, 146 P. 261. Since a light beer may be dealt with by the proper legislative authority in so far as regulation or prohibition of its sale is concerned, as are other alcoholic drinks, Riggins et al. v. Dis[293]*293trict Court, supra, the authority of the legislature to enact Sec. 46-0-131 is not open to question.

It remains to consider whether the questioned ordinance is within the authority thereby conferred. The power conferred is to “license, tax, regulate or prohibit” the sale of light beer at retail. It seems to us patent that since a city may prohibit, it may . elect not to prohibit but to permit, under such conditions or restrictions as the discretion of its governing authority may dictate, subject, of course, to conformity with state law. As stated by the Supreme Court of Illinois, in Gunnarssohn v. City of Sterling, 92 Ill. 569, at page 573:

“2. The language of the ordinance is not as broad and comprehensive as that of the city charter. The latter expressly authorizes the city council to prohibit, without any restriction whatever, while the latter only prohibits in less quantities than five gallons. A general power to prohibit is obviously sufficient to authorize any partial prohibition deemed advisable.”

We see no reason why such governing authority, pursuant .to the delegated power, might not prohibit the sale of beer except on certain days of the week, or during stated hours. If they might validly prohibit its sale on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, we see no reason why it infringes a right of plaintiff to limit the prohibition to Sunday.

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Bluebook (online)
214 P.2d 888, 117 Utah 288, 1950 Utah LEXIS 110, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shaw-v-orem-city-utah-1950.