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26 Tenn. 534

Bilbro v. State

Tennessee Supreme Court

Decided April 15, 1847

Tennessee Supreme Court · decided 1847-04-15

Bilbro was convicted in the Circuit Court of Haywood county, Judge Read presiding, upon an indictment, which charged, that he “did unlawfully sell and retail spirituous liquors to one Edmond White by the quart, to be drank on the premises, and which was then and there drank on the premises of him the said Bilbro, without having obtained a license so to do.” The presentment alleges, that the defendant below, “sold spirituous liquor by the quart, to be drank on the premises,”…

Cited by 1 later decisions — most recently January 1965

1 state decisions

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From this conviction he appealed · Decided 1847-04-15

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Turley, J.

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2This, a prosecution on the part of the State against J. J. 'Bilbro for vending spirituous liquors by the quart, to be drank on the premises; and it is now objected, that the bill of indictment is bad, in charging, that the liquor was sold to be drank on the premises. The statute of 1779, ch. 10, which creates the offence for which the defendant stands charged, uses the words “if intended to be drank,” and the argument is, that the word intend should have been inserted before the words “to be drank,” so as to make the indictment read “with the intent to be drank.” This would certainly have been pursuing the literal wording of the statute. But this, we think, is *536not necessary in the case of a misdemeanor, a substantial description of the offence is all that is required. This, we think, has been given in this case; the words “to be drank” certainly mean “with the intent to be drank,” for it is difficult, if not impossible, to see how the defendant could have sold spirituous liquors “to be drank” upon his premises, unless he at the time intended they should be drank.

¶3Affirm the judgment.

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