Watson v. State
Watson v. State
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OP COURT.
The following is taken, verbatim, from the opinion.
There is no doubt about -the four glass jars of liquor. There is no doubt but that the five gallon can found had a small amount of liquor
“Although some authorities have held that there is no presumption that personal property in the joint possession of the husband and wife belongs to the husband, the general rule is that where husband and wife are living together the husband is presumptively the owner of personal property on the premises, and that this presumption continues until the wife shows that she acquired it as her separate property. The presumption of the husband’s ownership applies especially to articles such as furniture and household goods' adapted to the use of and used by the head of the family.”
This is a well known principle. While intoxicating liquor was found in this house, there is no attempt to show that the husband and wife were not living together or that this was the property of the wife.
We think the legal conclusion must be that the liquor was the property of the husband and not of the wife; therefore the judgment is reversed and the plaintiff in error is discharged.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.