CopyCited 1 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...ty of the statute which *403 purported to make the offense charged a felony which would be cognizable in that forum, [2] and the appeal is made directly to this Court by reason of that finding. [3] *404 The applicable provisions of the law appear as Section 562.451, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. [4] The contentions of appellee in attacking this statute are, in essence: that the controlling provision, sub-section 562.451(4), penalizes the possession of "moonshine whiskey" in a blanket fashion; that in sub-section (2), of earlier origin, this term is used to refer to whisky in a certain state of manufacture without limitation to that of contraband char...
..."prima facie evidence that the same was not made or manufactured in accordance with" our law. [11] From this analysis the conclusion is inescapable that Chapter 29964, supra, did more than provide a new penalty for a previously defined offense. Sub-section 562.451(1) had, of course, theretofore proscribed the possession of alcoholic beverage not "made or manufactured in accordance with the regulatory provisions of the laws of the state," but the reasoning above demonstrates the necessity, under...
...a declaration that it was an act "Prohibiting the Possession of Moonshine Liquor; and Providing for Penalties for the Violation of the Beverage Law." Chapter 29964, so far as here material, was entitled as an act simply "amending Sub-section (3) of Section 562.451, Florida Statutes, and adding a new Subsection (4) thereto, providing for penalties for possession of mash, wort, wash or moonshine liquor." Even assuming that this might in other circumstances be adequate to encompass the enactment o...
...[15] For the reasons above noted, the re-enactment of this provision in the process of statutory compilation does not bolster the appellant's position and the trial court properly concluded that, under the rules of construction applicable to penal laws in general, section 562.451(4) is invalid, and the information predicated thereon must fall. [16] Affirmed. TERRELL, C.J., and THORNAL and O'CONNELL, JJ., concur. ROBERTS, J., dissents. NOTES [1] "Motion to quash was filed to both Counts of the Information and Count 1, which is brought under Fla. Stat. Section 562.451, was challenged, among other reasons, on the ground that the Circuit Court does not have jurisdiction, since the Statutes fail to clearly make the crime with which the defendants are charged a felony. It is not contended for the purpose of this particular ground in the motion to quash that a crime is not charged, but the contention is that the crime charged is a misdemeanor and that the Statute is wholly insufficient to make it a felony. "Section 562.451, Florida Statutes [F.S.A.], is as follows: * * * "From the above it will be seen that paragraph (1) defines the crime and makes it a crime to own any mash, wort, wash or alcoholic beverage unless the same shall have been made or manufactured in accordance with the regulatory provisions of the laws of the State....
...iskey is an alcholic liquor manufactured without the protection of and contrary to law, in respect to which no tax is either levied or may be collected.' "Attention is called, however, to the fact that this case was decided on June 4, 1943, and that Section 562.451, Florida Statutes, [F.S.A.], under which these defendants are being prosecuted, first became a law in 1945, which was after the decision in the Brown v....
...in fact moonshine whiskey. "23 C.J.S. Criminal Law § 865, p. 75: "`One need not be an expert or analyst or have technical knowledge to be qualified to testify that particular liquor was * * * moonshine or corn whiskey.' "Paragraph (3) of Fla. Stat. 562.451 [F.S.A.] deals only with such alcoholic beverage as is commonly known as moonshine whiskey and provides that anyone possessing less than one gallon of moonshine whiskey shall be guilty of a misdemeanor....
...d in accordance with the regulatory provisions of the laws of the State of Florida. "Criminal statutes should, of course, be strictly construed and for the reasons assigned above it is the opinion of this Court that paragraph (4) of Florida Statutes Section 562.451, is invalid....
...392, 394; Mahood v. Bessemer Properties, Inc.,
154 Fla. 710,
18 So.2d 775, 778, 153 A.L.R. 1199. [8] Bradley v. State,
79 Fla. 651,
84 So. 677, 10 A.L.R. 1129; 9 Fla.Jur., Crim. Law, Secs. 17, 18. [9] Brown v. State, 1943,
152 Fla. 853,
13 So.2d 458, 461. [10] Sub-section
562.451(2), supra....
...rsons by certain vendors; amending Section
562.23, Florida Statutes, providing for conspiracy to violate beverage law and penalty; amending Section
562.45, Florida Statutes, providing penalties for violating beverage law; amending Sub-section (3) of Section
562.451 Florida Statutes, and adding a new Subsection (4) thereto, providing for penalties for possession of mash, wort, wash or moonshine liquor; amending Subsections (2) (3) and (4) of Section 562.49, Florida Statutes, providing for excepti...
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1959 Fla. App. LEXIS 3141
...We have carefully considered each of the assignments of error as they relate to the points on appeal, but will confine our opinion solely to those phases of the case which we consider meritorious. Count Two of the information charged defendant with violation of F.S. § 562.451(4), F.S.A., which provides that any person owning or possessing one gallon or more of moonshine whiskey shall be deemed guilty of a felony....
...Such, however, does not appear from the record. Furthermore, the sentence imposed was for two separate and distinct crimes. We have reversed that portion of the conviction by which defendant was found guilty under Count Two, charging the crime of possession under F.S. § 562.451 (4), F.S.A., but are unable to discern what portion of the sentence imposed, if any, related to that alleged crime....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1959 Fla. App. LEXIS 2954
FARRINGTON, OTIS, Associate Judge. This is an appeal from a conviction and sentence of appellant on an information charging a violation of Section 562.451(4), F.S., 1955, F.S.A....
...own or possess more than one (1) gallon of alcholic beverage commonly known as ‘moonshine whiskey” Since the trial of this case and the entry of the judgment and sentence from which this appeal is taken, the Supreme Court of Florida has declared Section 562.451(4), F.S., 1955, F.S.A., invalid....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
...g house. The jury found him guilty, under the four counts, of violating the state beverage laws and not guilty of operating a gambling house. His appeal is from these convictions. The convictions concerned: count one, possession of moonshine liquor, section
562.451, Florida Statutes, F.S.A.; count two, possession of unstamped beverages, section
562.15; count three, possession of beverages upon which federal tax was unpaid, section
562.18; and count four, concealing beverages with intent to defraud the state of taxes, section
562.32....
...than one gallon of moonshine whiskey. He concedes that the evidence did establish that appellant had possession of less than one gallon of moonshine whiskey. These two appeal points can apply only to count one and can concern only the provisions of section 562.451 relating to unlawful possession of moonshine whiskey....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
SHANNON, Judge. Appellant appeals from her conviction upon four counts of an information charging her with violation of various sections of Chapter 562 of the Florida Statutes 1955, F.S.A., dealing with alcoholic beverages, including section 562.451 in Count One. Under subsection (1) of Section 562.451, it is provided: “It is unlawful for any person to own or possess within this state any mash, wort, wash or any alcoholic beverage unless the same shall have been made or manufactured in accordance with the regulatory provisions of...
...t in passing judgment upon appellant sentenced her to one year in the state penitentiary as to count one, or as an alternative that she pay a fine of $1,000. Appellant was thus convicted under subsection (1) and was sentenced under subsection (4) of Section 562.451, Florida Statutes 1955, F.S.A....
...Justice Drew, speaking for the Court, said: “For the reasons above noted, the reenactment of this provision in the process of statutory compilation does not bolster the appellant’s position and the trial court properly concluded that, under the rules of construction applicable to penal laws in general, section 562.451 (4) is invalid, and the information predicated thereon must fall.” Needless to say, this holding by the Supreme Court invalidates the sentence as to count one and makes it necessary for the trial court, whose jurisdiction includes m...
