State v. Meagher
State v. Meagher
Opinion of the Court
1. The appellant was convicted and fined twenty-five dollars, in the Barry Circuit Court, on
In Dunnaway v. State, 17 Tenn. 350, and Harney v. State, 76 Tenn. 113, it was held," under a statute prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors in less quantities than a quart without a license, that a tippling-house is a place in which intoxicating liquors are sold in less quantities than a quart without a license.
Bouvier defines a tippling-house'as a “place where spiritous liquors are sold and drank in violation of law.” To the like effect are definitions in Webster’s and Worcester’s dictionaries.
In Werner v. Washington (U. S.), 29 Fed. Cas. 705, tippling-houses are defined as “common drinking-houses, kept for lucre or gain, where all persons may, if they will, resort and drink ad libitum.”
In Woods v. Commonwealth, 40 Ky. 74, it was held that a tippling-house is “either a house in which tippling and drinking is allowed, or a house kept for the purpose of making a profit by selling spiritous liquors, . . . with or without license.”
In Husey v. State, 69 Ga. 54, it was held that “the term ‘tippling-house,’ within the meaning of a statute prohibiting the keeping open of a tippling-house on the Sabbath day, includes a place where liquor is retailed
In Mohrman v. State, 105 Ga. 709, s. c., 43 L. R. A. 398, it is said: “A tippling-house is a place where intoxicating drinks are sold in drams of small quantities to be drunk on the premises, . . . without a license therefor,” and it was held that a social club maintaining clubrooms, which were open only to members, wherein a bar was kept and drinks dispensed to members on Sunday, was guilty of keeping open a tippling-house.
In State v. Heckler, 81 Mo. 417, it was ruled that under an indictment for a violation of the dramshop act prohibiting the sale of spiritous liquors on Sunday by a dramshop-keeper, if the evidence failed to show that he had a license as a dramshop-keeper, he might nevertheless'be convicted under section 2243, supra (then section 1581, Revised Statutes 1879). A like ruling was made in State v. Kurtz, 64 Mo. App. 123.
In State v. Lucas, 94 Mo. App. 117, 67 S. W. 971, we sustained a conviction on an information bottomed on section 2243, charging the defendant with selling spiritous liquors on Sunday, in which the evidence showed the sale had been made in a drugstore.
It seems that prior to an act approved February 13, 1839, authorizing the issuance of dramshop license eo nomine, the dispensation of spiritous liquors by the dram was confined to licensed taverns and groceries and that tippling was principally confined to these resorts. After the Act of 1839 the dramshop superseded the licensed tavern and grocery as a resort for tippling and dram-drinking. The dramshop-keeper has at all times been prohibited from keeping his dramshop open on Sunday
In State v. Crabtree, 27 Mo. 232, Crabtree was indicted for keeping open his grocery on Sunday for the purpose of permitting persons to enter and drink. The indictment was bottomed on the same statute as is the information in this case. The proof was that the witness and others opened the door of defendant’s grocery, went in and immediately shut the door after them; that two of them took a dram; that defendant set ont the liquor; that he did not sell the liquor; that the door of the grocery had been shut previous to the entrance of witness and his Mends and that it was not permitted to stand open. Judge NaptoN writing the opinion of the court, at page 234, said: “A grocery-keeper, under the present law, has no authority to retail spiritous liquors at any time. The simple fact that he permits one or more acquaintances to enter his grocery and drink spiritous liquors on Sunday is not of itself abreach of this law. It may be of another. It may be evidence and very sufficient evidence to authorize a conviction under this law, depending upon circumstances and motives to be determined on by the jury. If the jury are satisfied that such acts are done for the accommodation of customers and are, in truth, a continuation of the
Neither Burgess nor O’Dwyer went into the saloon for the purpose of getting a drink. Burgess testified that he thought the back door through which they entered the saloon was fastened. O’Dwyer could not say whether it was fastened or not. There is no evidence that the front door was open. The back door was closed and, according to the preponderance of the evidence, was also fastened. This evidence does not prove nor tend to prove that the saloon was kept open or that the appellant was inside ready to open the back door for the admission of customers to be accommodated with drinks. There is no evidence whatever that the four or five persons O’Dwyer saw in the saloon were drinking or had been served with drinks; for aught that appears they were in the saloon for a legitimate purpose. If they were there to be served with drinks the State’s attorney should have called them as witnesses to prove the fact. We think the evidence insufficient to warrant a conviction and reverse the judgment.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting) — I dissent from the majority opinion in this case because I think the following evidence given by witness Ed A. O’Dwyer, was sufficient to justify the jury in inferring and finding that the saloon was open for the sale of liquor:
“Q. I will get you to state whether or not this door — or whether or not there was any one right immediately inside of the door that let you in or whether or not the door was locked? A. I don’t think the door was locked.
“Q. Where did you find Billy Meagher, the defendant, when you got on the inside? A. Well, as I remember, Mr. Meagher was at the end of the bar close to the ice chest, toward the south end of the bar.
*274 “Q. What did he have on, if anything, in the way of an apron? A. Well, I rather think he had on an apron, bnt wouldn’t swear it; I am not sure.
“Q. You rather think he did? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Was there any one in there when you and Mr. Burgess went in? A. There must have been four or five persons in there.
“Q. Do you remember now who they were? A. I remember now only George Callaway.
“Q. I will get you to state what was done there, if anything, by Mr. Meagher in the way of setting up the drinks? A. Mr. Burgess and I talked to Mr. Meagher about going on Mr. McCauly’s bond, and he gave us to understand he woudn’t go on his bond, and if my memory is right, Mr. Burgess turned to me and asked me what I would have and I took a soda.
“Q. What did John take? A. I think John took some whiskey.
“Q. Who was it that set it out? A. Billy Meagher.
“Q. The defendant? A. Yes, sir.”
Similar facts were held to be for the jury on the issue of keeping a saloon open on Sunday in State v. Meagher, 49 Mo. App. loc. cit. 577, 578.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.