United States v. 3935 Cases of Distilled Spirits, Civil Action No. 1065.
| Citation | 55 F. Supp. 84 |
| Decision Date | 12 April 1944 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1065. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. 3935 CASES OF DISTILLED SPIRITS. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota |
McMeekin & Quinn, of St. Paul, Minn., for claimant.
Wm. P. Murphy, Asst. U. S. Atty., of St. Paul, Minn., for libelant.
It is alleged by the Government that the owners of the seized property, who were licensed to do business as retailers, violated the Internal Revenue laws by engaging in business as wholesalers without payment of the wholesale dealers occupational tax required by Section 3253 of Title 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Code; without making the reports required to be kept by wholesale liquor dealers pursuant to the provisions of Section 2857 of Title 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Code, or without securing a basic permit to purchase distilled spirits for resale at wholesale as required by the Federal Alcohol Administration Act of August 29, 1935, as amended, 27 U.S.C.A. § 203.
The Government bases its authority for the seizure on Section 3116 of Title 26 U.S.C.A. Int.Rev.Code, which provides as follows:
The claimants herein seek return of the goods and equipment seized, contending that the libel of the Government cannot be sustained under Section 3116 for the reason that that act was not intended to include all violation of the internal revenue laws but is limited to violations involving industrial alcohol, none of which is involved in this libel. So that in the final analysis the problem is one of determining the meaning and intent of Section 3116.
It is of course well settled that where a question arises as to the meaning of a statute, it is resolved by determining what was the Congressional intent. At the outset, then, the question is: Did Congress intend that Section 3116 should apply only to violations of industrial alcohol statutes?
With the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment many of the provisions of Title II of the National Prohibition Act, 27 U.S.C.A. §§ 1, 4 et seq., had fallen, but there remained a number which retained vitality as revenue laws, some of which were vital in enforcement of Title III of the National Prohibition Act, 27 U.S.C.A. § 71 et seq., relating to industrial alcohol, which title did not fall with the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. Its provisions constituted an essential revenue measure, having followed similar provisions antedating the prohibition laws and requiring no constitutional amendment for their vitality. Section 25 of Title II of the National Prohibition Act provided that it was unlawful to have or possess any liquor or property designed for the manufacture of liquor intended for use or which had been used in violating Title II. It also provided for seizure and forfeiture of the liquor and property. When Title II of the National Prohibition Act was repealed, this provision of course fell and the only provisions for the seizure and forfeiture were, then, the less inclusive provisions of the internal revenue laws. United States v. Zager, D.C., 14 F.Supp. 23. On August 27, 1935, the Liquor Law Repeal and Enforcement Act, 49 Stat. 872, was enacted. Section 8 of that law was modeled after Section 25 of Title II of the National Prohibition Act. When it was reported to the House by the committee on the judiciary, Mr. Duffy, speaking for the committee, explained the purpose and intent of Section 8 as follows:
And on August 15, 1935, Mr. V. Simonton, a Treasury Department representative who had to do with the drafting of Section 8, explained its purpose and intent to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary as follows:
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