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The State of Kansas v. F. W. Volmer

Kansas Supreme Court1870-07
6 Kan. 371

Summary

Holding. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. The court held that unlicensed sale of intoxicating liquors is a criminal misdemeanor, the state may prove lager beer is intoxicating after proving its sale, and fermented liquors are presumed intoxicating unless the defendant proves otherwise.

The defendant was charged with selling lager beer without a license, violating Kansas law prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors without authorization. The court addressed three main legal questions: whether unlicensed sale of intoxicating liquors constitutes a criminal misdemeanor (yes), whether the state could prove that lager beer is an intoxicating liquor after establishing the defendant sold lager beer (yes), and whether fermented liquors carry a legal presumption of being intoxicating (yes). Evidence showed the defendant sold a product the buyer identified as lager beer, and the defendant's own testimony characterized it as a weak variety of lager beer with reduced alcohol content, which supported the charge.

The defendant challenged various evidentiary rulings and jury instructions. The court found sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict, noting that although some evidentiary matters were not fully explained in the record, the presumption favored the trial court's actions. The court also rejected the defendant's arguments about jury instructions, holding that trial courts need not repeat instructions or use the exact language proposed by a defendant.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether unlicensed sale of intoxicating liquors constitutes a criminal misdemeanor
  • Whether the state may prove that lager beer is an intoxicating liquor after establishing its sale
  • Whether fermented liquors carry a legal presumption of being intoxicating
  • Sufficiency of evidence to support jury verdict

Procedural posture

The case originated before a justice of the peace, was appealed to the district court, and then appealed to the state appellate court.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered, by

Valentine, J.:

This case was commenced originally before a justice of the peace, whence it was appealed to the district court, and from the district court to this court. The qustions to be decided are three:

I. The sale of spirituous, vinous, fermented and other intoxicating liquors without a license, is a criminal offense, and a misdemeanor; (Gen. Stat. p. 400, §3; p. 820, §§ 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; p. 878, §1; p. 383, §§ 307, 308; Laws of 1869, p. 149; State v. Muntz, 3 Kas., 387;) and such offense may be prosecuted like any other criminal offense of like magnitude.

II. After the State has proved that the defendant sold lager beer, the State may prove, (if it be ® J r ? \ denied by the defendant,) that lager beer is . . . .. an intoxicating liquor.

The witness "Wood, who bought the beer from the defendant, testified that he called for lager beer, got what looked and tasted like lager beer; and that he thought it was lager beer. This was evidence, of itself, sufficient to prove prima facie, that the beer sold was lager beer; (1 Iowa, 374, 379;) and sufficient as a foundation to give the State the right to prove, when denied by the defendant, that lager beer is an intoxicating liquor. It was an admission Ion the part of the defendant, when he sold the beer, that it was lager beer. Wood also testified that it was like lager beer that he had drank in other places. There was other testimony tending to show that it ivas lager beer; and oven the defendant’s testimony tended to prove that it was simply lager beer of a weak kind, pos sessing less malt, less hops, and less alcohol than a good quality of lager beer. The defendant calls it new beer or young beer.

III. Under the statutes of this State, all fermented liquor is presumed to be intoxicating. If the defendant denies that the fermented liquor sold by him is intoxicating, it devolves upon him to remove the presumption of the law by evidence.

These are all the questions really raised by the record. ~We think there was evidence sufficient to sustain the verdict of the jury.

On several questions we cannot tell whether the court below committed error or not. For instance, we cannot understand upon what principle Macke & Co.’s x j. j. advertisement in the Emporia Tribune was introduced in evidence; and there are other matters left unexplained. But as neither the evidence nor the charge of the court is all brought to this court, it will be presumed that the action of the court below was correct.

As to some of the questions that the defendant has attempted to raise, we would answer as we did in the case of Topeka v. Tuttle, 5 Kas., 311: A court is _ _ . . , not bound to repeat instructions to the jury, in the same or different language, or to give the law to the jury more than once; nor is the court bound to give the instructions in the exact language of the party asking them, but may give them in different language.

The judgment of the court below is affirmed.

All the Justices concurring.