201 Pa. Super. 145 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1963
Opinion by
This is an appeal by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board from an order of the court below denying the board’s petition for the forfeiture of a 1959 Chevrolet Impala coupe.
On March 3, 1962 an officer of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and policemen of the City of Pittsburgh apprehended James Thomas in his automobile, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala coupe. In the automobile were three glass containers, two of them being a gallon in size and the other one-half gallon. In all these containers there was a total of one-half gallon of moonshine liquor which James Thomas claimed he bought somewhere on Wylie Avenue in Pittsburgh and was taking to his home for a party. In addition, two and one-half gallons of moonshine were found in the cellar of his home. The automobile and the liquor were impounded. Thomas pleaded guilty to two indictments, upon one of which the court sentenced him to pay a fine of $100.00 and sentence was suspended on the other. At the conclusion of the hearing for the forfeiture of the automobile, the court below imposed a sentence of a $400.00 fine on the indictment upon which sentence had been suspended. Both indictments arose out of the transaction which occurred on March 3, 1962.
The attorney for the board now argues that the court below abused its discretion in refusing the forfeiture of the automobile.
A review of the provisions of the Liquor Code which are applicable to forfeiture of a vehicle is set forth in an opinion prepared by Judge Wright of this Court in Com. v. One 1958 Oldsmobile Sedan, 194 Pa. Superior Ct. 352, 355, 356, 168 A. 2d 776, as follows: “It becomes necessary to briefly review the applicable provisions of the Liquor Code. [Act of April 12, 1951, P. L. 90, Sections 601-603, as amended by the Act of April 20, 1956, P. L. (1955-56) 1508, 47 P.S. 6-601-603.] As
In that opinion, at pages 357, 358, we further said: “. . . However, since the amendment of April 20, 1956, we have plainly held that the courts of quarter sessions are vested with discretion as to forfeiture where the claimant had no knowledge of the illegal use of the vehicle : Commonwealth v. One 1957 Chevrolet Sedan, 191 Pa. Superior Ct. 179, 155 A. 2d 438. . . .
“To summarize, it is our view that, in enacting the amendment of April 20, 1956, the legislature intended to vest in the courts of quarter sessions discretion to deal with each vehicle forfeiture application as the equities of the situation may indicate.”
The attorney for the board admits in his brief that the legislature, in enacting the amendment of 1956, intended to vest in the courts of quarter sessions discretion to deal with each vehicle forfeiture application as the equities of the situation might indicate. We believe that the equities in the present case justify the action which was taken by the court below. The record indicates that the owner, James Thomas, had no prior record. It also indicates that he was not transporting the moonshine for the purpose of resale. The court below had a right to believe Thomas’ story that he intended to use the half gallon of moonshine which he was
It seemed to the court below that to make this man pay the sum of $500.00 in fines, together with the costs of the proceeding and the storage cost for the automobile, was sufficient punishment under all the circumstances. To forfeit a 1959 Chevrolet Impala coupe in addition to the above seemed to the court below to be entirely out of proportion to the crime involved. We cannot say that the court below abused its discretion in so acting. We do not believe that the court’s discretion should be limited to a situation in which the owner of a car or a lienholder has no knowledge of the illegal use of the vehicle. We believe that the legislature intended a wider discretion to be vested in the court.
Order affirmed.