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55 Ala. 64

Raisler v. State

Supreme Court of Alabama

Decided December 15, 1876

Supreme Court of Alabama · decided 1876-12-15

Eeom the Circuit Court of Limestone. Tried before the Hon. W. 33. Wood.

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

““It is due to the circuit judge that we should say, the sufficiency of the indictment does not appear to have been brought to his attention. Still we feel bound to notice it.” Raisler v. State, 55 Ala. 64 .”

quoted by 1 later decision, including 16 Ala. App. 176 - Collins v. State

Relies on Harris v. State · Andrews v. McCoy · Moses v. Tompkins

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1876-12-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 18 later decisions — most recently January 1980

18 state decisions

70187618801890190019101920193019401950196019701980decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

STONE, J. —

¶1The indictment in this case is fatally defective, under section 3618 of the Revised Code. That section prohibits the sede of vinous or spirituous liquors in quantities less than a quart, without license. The present indictment *65is framed in the disjunctive, and charges that the defendant “ sold, bartered, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of, or permitted to be taken, spirituous, vinous, or malt liquors,” etc. Several of these disjunctive averments charge no offense known to the law. The indictment thus' charges that the defendant did one of several acts, many of which are not indictable under the statute. A disjunctive averment in pleading, to be sufficient, must, in each of its alternative phases, charge an indictable offense. Andrews v. McCoy, 8 Ala. 920; Lucas v. Oliver, 84 Ala. 626; David v. Shepherd, 40 Ala. 587.

¶2It is due to the circuit judge that we should say, the sufficiency of the indictment does not appear to have been brought to his attention. Still, we feel bound to notice it. 1 Bish. Or. Procedure, § 1196. In the rulings on evidence, and in the charge to the jury, we find no error.

¶3The revenue law, approved March 6, 1876 (Pamph. Acts, 78, 79, 80; chap. 9, sections 1, 6, 7), contains provisions, which must be observed when the indictment is for engaging in the business of retailing. See Harris v. The State, 50 Ala. 127, and authorities cited; Bryant v. The State, 46 Ala. 302; Espy v. The State, 47 Ala. 533. The present indictment is not under that statue. See McIntyre v. The State, at the present term.

¶4"We do not consider it necessary to notice any other questions.

¶5Beversed and remanded. Let the defendant remain in custody, until discharged by due course of law.

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