City of Jackson v. Gordon

• Decision Date: 10 March 1919
• Docket Number: 20639
• Citation: 80 So. 785,119 Miss. 325
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court
• Parties: CITY OF JACKSON v. GORDON

80 So. 785

119 Miss. 325

CITY OF JACKSON v. GORDON

No. 20639

Supreme Court of Mississippi

March 10, 1919

Division A

1. CRIMINAL LAW. Intention.

Criminal intent must accompany a crime and there must be actual or constructive intent to do the thing which constitutes the crime, otherwise there is no criminal act.

2. INTOXICATING LIQUORS. Offense. Have, control or possess."

Section 2, chapter 189, Laws 1918, making it unlawful for any person to "have, control, or posses" intoxicating liquors is not violated where a defendant has liquor in his possession without his knowledge, as a result of some other party placing the liquor in his possession.

3. INTOXICATING LIQUORS. Criminal prosecution. Question for jury. knowledge of possession.

In a prosecution under section 2, chapter 289, Laws 1918, of the proprietor of a pressing shop for having liquor in his possession, the court held under the evidence as set out in its opinion, that the question as to whether or not defendant was conscious of such possession was for the jury.

4 SAME.

In such case, where the defense is that defendant had no knowledge of the presence of liquors found in his shop, this raises a question of fact for the jury, the presumption being in such case that he knew of its presence.

APPEAL from the circuit court of Hinds county, HON. W. H. POTTER Judge.

Corry Gordon was charged by the city of Jackson with unlawfully having certain liquors under his control or in his possession, was found guilty and appealed to the circuit court, where being acquitted, the city appeals.

The facts are fully stated in the opinion of the court.

Judgment affirmed.

W. E. Morse, for appellant.

L. C. Hallam, for appellee.

OPINION

HOLDEN, J.

This is an appeal by the city of Jackson, involving the construction of one of our liquor laws found in section 2 of chapter 189, Laws of 1918, which provides "that it shall be unlawful for any person . . . to have, control or possess . . . any of the liquors mentioned," etc.

The question presented arose in a case in the lower court on the following facts: The appellee, Corry Gordon, was charged with unlawfully having under his control or in his possession certain liquors. The proof submitted by the state showed that Gordon was the proprietor of a pressing shop in Jackson, in which, when raided by the police, was found four bottles of beer in the front part of his shop, and four bottles under his bed in the back part. The defendant, Gordon, disclosed by his evidence that the liquor in question had been left in his shop by a customer, and that he (Gordon) did not own the liquor and had no knowledge of the fact that the liquor was in the shop at the time it was seized by the officer. In other words, the defendant proved by competent testimony which the jury had a right to believe and did believe, that he did not know or was not conscious of the possession of the liquor. The prosecution for the city requested an instruction from the court telling the jury that, if they believed beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had the liquor under his control or in his possession, they should find him guilty. The court refused to grant the instruction in the form requested, but offered to grant the instruction, modified by inserting the word "knowingly," which made it read that the jury should find the defendant guilty if they believed that he "knowingly" had liquor under his control or in his possession. But the city refused to use the modified instruction...