Rhodes v. State
| Decision Date | 01 April 1925 |
| Docket Number | A-4762. |
| Citation | 234 P. 645,30 Okla.Crim. 2 |
| Parties | RHODES v. STATE. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
Syllabus by the Court.
When an offense is created by statute which sets forth with precision and certainty all the elements of the offense, an information is sufficient which charges the offense in words of the statute.
Instructions must be construed with reference to the evidence introduced.
A person accused of crime should have no greater burden than is created by the evidence produced against him on the trial.
A court will not extend the terms of a penal statute beyond their clear legal meaning. So the word "sell" in section 6996-7, C. S. 1921, declaring it a felony "to barter sell or give to any minor," liquors, will not be construed to mean something different from its ordinary legal import.
On the trial for giving intoxicating liquor to a minor, the evidence showed that defendant sold a pint of whisky to an adult driver of a car with four other occupants; one being a minor. It was error for the court to instruct the jury that it would make no difference as to whether defendant actually handed the whisky to the minor or whether he just furnished it to the party and some of the rest of them actually handed it to the minor, if he furnished it for that party, and the minor thereby procured it, then he would be as guilty as though he may have handed it to the minor himself.
Additional Syllabus by Editorial Staff.
To "furnish" is to provide or supply anything wanted by another, and carries with it idea of ownership, property in, or dominion over thing by one who furnishes it.
Appeal from District Court, Canadian County; James I. Phelps, Judge.
Grover Rhodes was convicted of giving intoxicating liquor to a minor, and he appeals. Reversed, and new trial granted.
Babcock & Trevathan, of El Reno, and P. P. Duffey, of Oklahoma City for plaintiff in error.
George F. Short, Atty. Gen., and Leon S. Hirsh, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
The information in this case charges that in Canadian county on or about the 13th day of April, 1922, Grover Rhodes did then and there willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously give to and otherwise furnish Ruth Early, a minor, intoxicating liquor, to wit, corn whisky; she, the said Ruth Early, then and there being under the age of 18 years. On the trial the jury returned a verdict, finding the defendant guilty of furnishing intoxicating liquor to a minor as charged in the information, and fixing his punishment at confinement in jail for six months, and a fine of $500. He has appealed from the judgment rendered in pursuance of the verdict. The overruling of the defendant's demurrer to the information is assigned as error. This was a prosecution under section 6996-7, C. S. 1921, which makes it a felony "for any person to barter, sell or give to any minor," any spirituous, vinous, fermented or malt liquors. It is a companion case to that of Carey v. State, 21 Okl. Cr. ---, 226 P. 1063. The information is sufficient and the demurrer thereto was properly overruled.
The evidence shows that Ruth Early, a minor 14 years of age, went riding with Bert Carey, Palin Henderson, and Elmer Green; that they drove a few miles north of El Reno, then returned to the city and stopped in front of the Bergren barber shop; Grover Rhodes and Harry Laird were standing on the sidewalk; Carey called to Grover Rhodes and they had a conversation, after which Rhodes went away and came back, and he and Harry Laird got into the car; Carey drove a mile or two south of town and stopped, there the four men and one of the girls, Ruth Early, each took a drink of corn whisky from a pint bottle. Ruth Early testified that when she got into the car there was a bottle in the seat containing a small amount of grape juice and corn whisky mixed, and she drank it; then Carey drove back to El Reno and stopped in front of the barber shop; Grover Rhodes was standing there, and Carey called him and whispered something to him; Rhodes went away and came back and got into the car; Carey asked Rhodes how much he wanted, Rhodes said $2.50, and Carey handed him a bill, and Rhodes gave Carey $2.50 in change; that a mile or two south of town they stopped; that Rhodes handed her a pint bottle and she took a drink, and it was corn whisky; that Rhodes and Carey each took a drink; that she did not know whether any one in the back seat took a drink.
Harry Laird testified that Bert Carey called Grover Rhodes to the car and wanted him to get some whisky for him, and Grover said that he would go and see if he could find any, and went away, then came back, and got into the car; Carey drove south a mile or two and stopped. All four men and Ruth Early took a drink from a pint bottle of whisky. That the first time he saw the bottle Grover Rhodes handed it to Elmer Green, Green handed it to him, and he handed it to Bert Carey. The defendant requested the court to give the following instruction:
"You are instructed that, if you find from the evidence that the defendant, Grover Rhodes, sold the whisky in question to Bert Carey, or obtained the same for him, and that Carey paid therefor, then, and in that event, the defendant would not be guilty of the offense charged in the information." Refused. Exception allowed. James I. Phelps, Judge.
The court instructed the jury in part as follows:
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