Crooms v. Ketchum
| Decision Date | 08 June 1964 |
| Docket Number | No. 50139,No. 1,50139,1 |
| Citation | 379 S.W.2d 580 |
| Parties | Jack C. CROOMS, d/b/a The Silver Spur, Respondent, v. Hollis M. KETCHUM, Supervisor, Department of Liquor Control, State of Missouri, Appellant |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Thomas F. Eagleton, Atty. Gen., Robert R. Northcutt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, for appellant.
C. John Forge, Jr., Curtis K. Cochell, Kansas City, for respondent.
This is an appeal by Hollis M. Ketchum, Missouri Supervisor of Liquor Control, from the order and judgment of the Circuit Court of Jackson County setting aside, as not supported by competent and substantial evidence on the whole record, a decision of the said Supervisor as entered on March 13, 1963, suspending for 15 days, effective at 12:01 a. m. April 8, 1963, the State Liquor License theretofore issued by the State to Jack C. Crooms, d/b/a The Silver Spur, for a tavern located at 1924 Main Street in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri. See article V, Section 22, Constitution of Missouri 1945, V.A.M.S. and Section 311.700 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S.
The application to suspend or revoke the State Liquor License of the said Jack C. Crooms was filed on February 21, 1963, with the Department of Liquor Control. The charge indicated in the application was: Regulation 15, subsection (a) of the Rules and Regulations adopted in 1960 by the Supervisor of Liquor Control, as hereinafter referred to, was also set out in the application.
Notice was duly given licensee that a hearing would be held on said application at the office of the Supervisor of Liquor Control in the State Office Building in Jefferson City, Missouri, at 10 a. m. on the 13th day of March, 1963. Licensee appeared in person and by counsel and a hearing was held pursuant to the show cause order included in the notice. See Section 311.690 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S.
The evidence tended to show that a license for one year had been duly issued to Jack C. Crooms on July 1, 1962, to sell liquor in Missouri at retail by the drink at The Silver Spur, 1924 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri. The evidence further tended to show that the Supervisor had duly adopted Rules and Regulations, as authorized by Section 311.660 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S., and particularly Regulation 15, subsection (a) to the effect that: 'Licensees are at all times responsible for the conduct of their business and are at all times directly responsible for any act or conduct of any employee on the premises which is in violation of the Intoxicating Liquor Laws or the Nonintoxicating Beer Laws or the Regulations of the Supervisor of Liquor Control.'
Other evidence tended to show that, on the evening of February 8, 1963, one Donald Horek, a police officer employed by the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and connected with the vice-unit, was operating with State Agent George Rose of the Missouri State Department of Liquor Control and Investigator Frank Frey, of the Kansas City Liquor Department. They were engaged in a routine investigation of taverns in Kansas City, Missouri. About 1:05 a. m. February 9, 1963, when they entered The Silver Spur tavern, they observed that Ruth Ann Henderson, a white female, age 18, had a bottl of 5 percent beer and a glass. Witness Horek observed her drinking as he entered the tavern. She was seated at the rear of the premises in the last booth and, when inquiry was made of her as to the date of her birth, she at first presented a birth certificate showing the name of Martha Louise Haley, which gave a birth date of June 1, 1940, but she subsequently stated that she had obtained the Haley certificate by picking it up from a street in Kansas City some six months before; and that she had used this birth certificate in purchasing liquor previously, including three bottles of Schlitz beer, at forty-five cents each, on the evening in question. She further admitted her true identity as Ruth Ann Henderson and gave her age as 18 years. The bottle of Schlitz beer that she was drinking from was then seized by Officer Horek and Miss Henderson was placed under arrest. See Sections 311.320 and 311.325 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S.
Miss Henderson, as a witness for the Department of Liquor Control at the hearing on March 13, 1963, testified that she resided with her parents at 816 Bennington, Kansas City, Missouri, and that she was employed by the Credit Endorsement Company, a company engaged in the loan business. When this witness was presented, counsel for licensee admitted that this girl was in licensee's establishment on the date in question (February 9, 1963) and that she did have in front of her a bottle of beer. The witness, however, further testified that she had purchased the beer in question at The Silver Spur tavern from a waitress, who subsequently testified and gave her name as Agnes Marie Carletti. The last bottle of beer purchased by Miss Henderson was the one seized by the agent and this bottle was identified by Miss Henderson at trial as bearing her initials on the top left-hand corner. It was the bottle that contained the beer she had purchased from the mentioned waitress in the tavern on February 9, 1963. Witness Henderson also testified that her birth date was July 25, 1944, and she gave her age as 18 years. She also identified a certified copy of her birth certificate showing her birth date, her correct name and the correct name of her father and mother. She also testified that she had been in the tavern previous to the date in question; that she had presented the Martha Louise Haley birth certificate when buying beer; and that she did not know how many times she had used the Haley birth certificate for identification purposes, since finding it. She admitted that she knew she was committing on offense when presenting a known false birth certificate for the purpose of being able to purchase liquor.
The licensee, Jack C. Crooms, testified on his own behalf that he was the holder of the liquor license in question, which was License No. 2419; that he had observed the waitress check a birth certificate before she permitted Miss Henderson to purchase beer. He said that he had instructed his employees with reference to youths entering his establishment. He further testified that he had attempted to comply with all the State and City regulations with reference to his business; that Agnes Carletti was one of his employees who had been employed about eight months; that she was on duty on February 9, 1963; and that she had made the sale in question to Miss Henderson.
Agnes Marie Carletti also testified on behalf of the defendant, her employer. She stated that she was employed as a waitress in The Silver Spur tavern in Kansas City, Missouri; that she was licensed to act as a writress in such an establishment and carried an I. D. card from the City License Liquor Control; that Ruth Ann Henderson showed her an 'I. D. card' to the effect that she was born in 1940, which would make her 22 years of age, and that thereupon she had sold the liquor in question to Ruth Ann Henderson on February 9, 1963.
Other evidence tended to show that the beer bottle in question was labelled Schlitz Beer; and that a laboratory test, subsequently made, showed that the portion of Schlitz Beer remaining in the bottle at the time it was seized from Miss Henderson was 5 percent beer, in that it contained 4.52 percent of alcohol by volume and 3.60 percent of alcohol by weight, as determined by the chemist for the Liquor Control Department. Witness Rose, who was present when the beer was seized, testified that he had thereafter delivered it to the chemist in Jefferson City.
A certified copy of the birth certificate of Ruth Ann Henderson was also offered and received in evidence showing, as stated, that the date of her birth was July 25, 1944. The birth certificate of Martha Louise Haley was also received in evidence. It showed the date of her birth as June 1, 1940.
On the basis of the evidence hereinbefore reviewed, the Supervisor of Liquor Control found the facts to be that Jack C. Crooms was the holder of a license duly issued to him by the Department of Liquor Control permitting him to sell intoxicating liquor by the drink; and that on or about February 9, 1963, Agnes M. Carletti, an employee of the said Crooms, had sold intoxicating liquor to Ruth Ann Henderson, a person under the age of 21 years.
As conclusions of law, the Supervisor found that Section 311.310 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S. prohibits a licensee or his employee from selling intoxicating liquor to any person under the age of 21 years; that Regulation 15, subsection (a) of the Rules and Regulations adopted by the Supervisor of Liquor Control made the licensee responsible for the conduct of licensee's business and also made the licensee responsible for the acts of his employees on the licensed premises, when such employees acted in violation of the laws governing the sale of intoxicating liquor; that the Supervisor's Rules and Regulations for the Department of Liquor Control had been duly adopted by the supervisor pursuant to authority given him by Section 311.660 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S. and that the Supervisor of Liquor Control was authorized to revoke or suspend the license of any licensee for failure to obey the Rules and Regulations so adopted by the Supervisor of Liquor Control. He further found that Section 311.680 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S. further authorizes the Supervisor of Liquor Control to revoke and suspend the license of licensee Crooms should said licensee violate any of the provisions of Chapter 311 RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S.
Thereupon the Supervisor entered the order, as hereinbefore stated, to...
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