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13 Johns. 428

Bigelow v. Johnson

New York Supreme Court

Decided October 15, 1816

New York Supreme Court · decided 1816-10-15

IN ERROR, on certiorari to a justice’s court. Johnson, the defendant in- error., brbught ah action of debt in the court below, against the plaintiff in error, and declared generally for the penalty of twenty-five dollars for selling strong 'and spirituous liquors, contrary to the 7th section of the act to lay a duty on strong liquors, &c. The plaintiff being called upon for the particulars of his charge, specified certain small quantities of liquors sold to particular…

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1816-10-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 4 later decisions — most recently January 1919

3 state decisions

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Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Per Curiam,.

¶1The 7th section of the act provides, “ that if any person shall sell by retail any strong or spirituous liquors, without having a license, or if any person shall sell any strong or spirituous liquors; to be drank in his or her house, outhouse, yard, or garden, without having entered into a recognisance, every person who shall be guilty of either of the offences aforesaid, shall, for each offence, forfeit the sum of twenty-five dollars.” Here are two distinct offences described, viz. one of selling by-retail without license, and the other, selling liquor to be drank in the house, &c. without recognisance.

¶2It is a well-settled rule, that in declaring for offences against penal statutes, (where no form is expressly given,) the plaintiff is bound to set forth specially the facts on which he relies to constitute the offence. No form is prescribed by the statute in this case ; and the plaintiff here declared against the defendant for selling spirituous liquors by retail to A. and B., contrary to the 7th section of the act. This declaration does not embrace the offence of selling liquors to be drank in the house, &c, without recognisance ; or, at least, it is equivocal. The defendant was not apprized that the latter offence would be charged against him; and as to the first offence his license was a complete answer.

¶3Judgment reversed.

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