State v. Bevans
State v. Bevans
Opinion of the Court
The defendant was convicted on an information, charging him with selling to one Shackelford, in Lewis county, intoxicating liquors in violation of the local-option law. The defense interposed was that the defendant was a druggist, and sold the liquors as medicine upon written prescription of a practicing physician. The errors assigned are numerous, but upon an examination of the record we find that the assignments are untenable, except in regard to the ruling of the court hereinafter stated.
The state proved the adoption of the local-option law in Lewis county, and also proved the sale of the liquor by the defendant to Shackelford. The defendant gave evidence tending to show that the sale was made upon the written prescription of a practicing physician. In doing so, he called the physician ' as a witness. This witness was cross-examined by the state touching the circumstances under which the prescription was issued, and the entire tenor of the cross-examination indicated that the State endeavored to show that the prescription was not issued in good faith, but as a mere blind to avoid the penalties of the law. The defendant objected to this examination, claiming that the evidence was irrelevant, but the court overruled the objection, stating in presence and hearing of the jury: “I think, the good faith of this prescription is involved.” The defendant objected to this remark of the court, and
We are under the constitution bound to follow the decision of the supreme court, which holds in Ex parte Swann, 96 Mo. 44, and State v. Moore, 107 Mo. 78, that the local-option law and the druggist law may coexist in the same territory, and that a druggist may sell liquors on written prescriptions issued by a practicing physician, even in counties where the local-option law has been adopted. The attention of the supreme court
The judgment is reversed and the cause remanded.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). — I dissent, being oopinion that, in the state of the evidence, the good faith of the prescription was involved as a part of the res gestae.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.