45 Fla. 1 | Fla. | 1903
The plaintiff in error was convicted of carrying on the business of a liquor dealer in violation of the local option law.
The information against him, following the statutory form, alleged that he “did on or about the 1st day of December, A. D. 1901, unlawfully engage in and carry on the business of a dealer in liquors in election district number 15 of said county, which said county had voted against the .sale of said liquors,” etc.
The defendant filed a motion that the State Attorney be required, to furnish him with a bill of particulars, accompanying the motion with an affidavit to the effect that the information did not apprise him of the particular offense intended to be proven on the trial, did not inform him to whom the liquor was sold, nor what kind of liquor was sold, and that he did not know, and had
The right of a defendant to demand a bill of particulars, and of the court to direct one independent of express statutory authority, is recognized by this court in the case of Thalheim v. State, 38 Fla. 169, 20 South Rep. 938, where the subject is discussed at some length. As said there the object of such bill of particulars is not to cure a defect in the indictment, but to inform the defendant with greater certainty of the precise nature of an accusation properly charged in the indictment. United States v. Tubbs, 94 Fed. Rep. 356, text 360. The rights of a defendant to make this demand will depend then not upon any rigid rule of pleading, but upon the question whether the nature of the case is such that in fairness the defendant should have fuller information of the charge against him than is given by the indictment-alone. This may depend largely upon the circumstances of the particular case, and the courts therefore hold that it is a matter of discretion whether such bill shall in any case be required (Thalheim v. State, supra; United States v. Tubbs, supra; State v. Reno, 41 Kan. 674, 21 Pac. Rep. 803; Commonwealth v. Wood, 4 Gray, 11; State v. Bacon, 41 Vt. 526; State v. Nagle, 14 R. I. 331); and several of them hold that the exercise of this discretion is not the subject of review by an appellate court. We do not follow them in this, but it serves to emphasize the caution which should govern an appellate, court in determining whether there has been an abime of such discretion by the trial court.
In the ease-at bar we do not find that the court erred
The defendant then moved to quash the information. All of those grounds of the motion are based upon the uncertainty of the allegations of the information, except the sixth, are disposed of by the rulings of this court in the cases of Jordan v State, 22 Fla. 528; Dansey v. State, 23 Fla. 316, 2 South. Rep. 692; and Roberts v. State, 26 Fla. 360, 7 South. Rep. 861, where it is held that an indictment for selling liquors without a license, or carrying on the business of a dealer in liquors without a license, need allege neither “the name of a person to whom the liquor was sold or the particular liquor sold, nor that the defendant had a place of business, nor that his place of business was in an election district of a county.”
The sixth ground of the motion is “because the said information does not allege that the liquor charged to have been sold was intoxicating liquor.” Chapter 4930 of the acts of 1901, under which this information is prosecuted, in section 1 provides that “whoever sells, or
Does the omission of the word, “intoxicating,” before the word “liquors,” in the form of information provided for by the statute infringe this rule? We think not. The word “liquor” may be used in either of two senses. The first is practically synonymous with “liquid.” The second as given in Webster’s Dictionary is “2. Specifically, alcoholic or spirituous fluid either distilled or fermented, as brandy, wine, whisky, beer, etc.” In common parlance the word is universally understood in the latter sense when used as it- is here in speaking of a dealer in liquors. This being true, when the, statute first prescribes a penalty for dealing in intoxicating liquors, and then prescribes
Under the eighth ground of the motion to quash it. is contended that Chapter 4930 of the acts of 1901, under which the charge is prosecuted, is unconstitutional in that it embraces more than one subject matter, The act in question provides for the punishment not only of those selling liquor in counties or precincts voting against such sale, but also of those selling liquor without a license in counties voting for its sale. Upon the authority of Butler v. State, 25 Fla. 347, 6 South. Rep. 67, it is urged that this includes two subjects repugnant and inconsistent, and not properly embraced in a single act. That case holds that the one crime is based upon conditions which exclude 1 lie operation of the law proscribing the other offense, and that for this reason the two offenses can not be joined in a single indictment. The law governing the joinder of counts in an indictment we will not examine. The single subject of legislation in the act under consideration is the punishment of the Illegal sale of liquor, and both-provisions of the statute are embraced within.this subject.
The motion 1o quash was properly denied.
The remaining assignments of error insisted, upon here question the sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict. ‘
The evidence shoAved the sale of, liquor by the defendant in December, 1901. , The election to determine