Public-domain · open source
OpenJurist

28 P.R. 900

People v. Vélez

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico

Decided December 13, 1920

Supreme Court of Puerto Rico · decided 1920-12-13

<p>Alcohol — Distilling —• Internal Revenue License — Jurisdiction. — A complaint which charges that the accused “maliciously and fraudulently distilled alcohol without having the corresponding internal revenue license,” but fails to allege that the alcohol was distilled for medicinal, sacramental, industrial or scientific purposes, does not charge a violation of section 19 of the Excise Tax Law; and if it should be considered that the distilling constituted a violation of section 2 of the Jones Act, it would be necessary to hold that the district court had no jurisdiction.</p>

Decided 1920-12-13

Mr. Justice del Toro

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2Ramón Vélez and Julián Rivera were charged with the commission of the following act:

“They maliciously and fraudulently engaged in the distillation of alcohol during the three month from April to June, 1919, without having obtained the corresponding internal-revenue license required by section 17 of the Internal Revenue Law in force.”

¶3They were found guilty of having violated the said law.

¶4An appeal having been taken from that judgment, the Fiscal of this court moved for its reversal on the ground that the facts alleged in the information did not constitute *901tlie violation charged, inasmuch as it is not alleged that the defendants distilled or manufactured the alcohol for medicinal, sacramental, industrial or scientific purposes, the violation being rather of section 2 of the Jones Act, of which class of cases neither the municipal or the district court has jurisdiction, in accordance with the doctrine laid down by this court in the case of People v. Torres, ante, page 783.

¶5The question is not new. On July 30, 1920, a case similar to the present, People v. Fernández, ante, page 791, was decided by this court in the sense indicated by the Fiscal.

¶6For this reason the judgment appealed from must be reversed and the defendants discharged.

¶7 Reversed.

Chief Justice Hernandez and Justices Wolf, Aldrey and Hutchison concurred.
/28/pr/900 · .json · Public domain