Ammons v. State
| Decision Date | 07 October 1924 |
| Docket Number | 4 Div. 955. |
| Citation | 101 So. 511,20 Ala.App. 283 |
| Parties | AMMONS v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Appeals |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Covington County; W. L. Parks, Judge.
Charlie Ammons was convicted of unlawfully possessing prohibited liquors, and he appeals. Reversed and remanded.
J Morgan Prestwood, of Andalusia, for appellant.
Harwell G. Davis, Atty. Gen., and Lamar Field, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
As shown by the record in this case, the conviction of this appellant (defendant in the court below) rested solely upon the testimony of state's witness H. T. Hughes, and his testimony tended to show that during the absence from home of this defendant for a week he found in defendant's home behind a meal barrel, a small bottle (half-pint) containing something that smelled like rum. There was some evidence that he found in the barn 10 gallons of what he termed beer, which the witness stated consisted of corn, syrup, and water. There was no evidence showing, or tending to show, that this so-called beer was fermented, or that it contained alcohol or otherwise came within the inhibited terms of the statute therefore, as stated, his conviction was for having in his possession the half-pint bottle, the contents of which smelled like rum. Under all the evidence in this case, the court should have directed a verdict for the defendant as requested in writing. It is manifest that his conviction was predicated upon suspicion, conjecture or surmise, or mere guesswork, and this, as has often been stated, is not sufficient to support a verdict of the jury or to sustain a judgment of conviction. We have repeatedly held, and stated that the same rules of evidence must apply in prosecutions for violation of the prohibition laws as apply in all other criminal cases, and unless trial courts properly apply this rule, their rulings of necessity must and will be revised and corrected by the appellate courts in order that the constitutional rights of an accused to a fair and impartial trial be not infringed; for the Constitution provides that a person accused of the commission of a criminal offense shall not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, except by due process of law. The presumption of innocence, evidentiary in its nature, attended the accused upon this trial, and the state's evidence failed to overcome this presumption. The state offered no evidence showing, or tending to show, any...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
McCart v. State
...as charged. And this of course was not enough.' Orr v. State, 32 Ala.App. 77, 80, 21 So.2d 574, 576 (1945). See also Ammons v. State, 20 Ala.App. 283, 101 So. 511 (1924). `If the evidence raises a mere suspicion, or, admitting all it tends to prove, defendant's guilt is left in uncertainty,......
-
Spratley v. Commonwealth
...301 Ill. 85, 133 N. E. 645; Russell v. State, 91 Fla. 370, 107 So. 922; Clements v. State, 19 Ala. App. 640, 99 So. 832; Ammons v. State, 20 Ala. App. 283, 101 So. 511; Denham v. Commonwealth, 206 Ky. 746, 268 S. W. 545; McLeod v. State, 140 Miss. 897, 105 So. 757; State v. Lutz, 85 W. Va. ......
-
Spratley v. Commonwealth
...Todd, 301 Ill. 85, 133 N.E. 645; Russell State, 91 Fla. 370, 107 So. 922; Clements State, 19 Ala.App. 640, 99 So. 832; Ammons State, 20 Ala.App. 283, 101 So. 511; Denham Commonwealth, 206 Ky. 746, 268 S.W. 545; McLeod State, 140 Miss. 105 So. 757; State Lutz, 85 W.Va. 330, 101 S.E. 434; Sta......
-
Greer v. State, 5 Div. 646
...as charged. And this of course was not enough." Orr v. State, 32 Ala.App. 77, 80, 21 So.2d 574, 576 (1945). See also Ammons v. State, 20 Ala.App. 283, 101 So. 511 (1924). "If the evidence raises a mere suspicion, or, admitting all it tends to prove, defendant's guilt is left in uncertainty,......