State v. De Villiers
State v. De Villiers
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
The State of Oklahoma has appealed on a reserved question of law from an order of the District Court of Cleveland County, sustaining the appellee’s demurrer to the State’s evidence at the trial of Cleveland County Case No. CRF-79-195. The question is what evidence is needed to establish a prima facie case of knowingly selling an alcoholic beverage to a minor.
In Kyle v. State, 366 P.2d 961 (OkI.Cr. 1961), this Court said that a seller of alcoholic beverages has a duty to exercise normal powers of observation and draw reasonable conclusions from what he or she sees and hears. Kyle dealt with selling an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person, but the principle is the same with selling to minors: a merchant cannot blindly sell alcoholic beverages to anyone who offers him money. If a person appears young, the seller is obligated to inquire about age.
In some cases it will be a question of fact whether the seller should have asked the person about his or her age, and it will be up to the jury to decide. The appellee claims that the juvenile looked older than his age, but that is irrelevant to the issue before this Court.
The district court erred in ruling that the State had to prove the appellant had actual knowledge of his customer’s age. It would have been sufficient to show that under the circumstances a reasonable person would have inquired as to his customer’s age, and that he failed to do so.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- The STATE of Oklahoma v. Isaac Bingham DE VILLIERS
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published