The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1915-04-07
PEOPLES OPINION
on LIQUOR LAWS


Liquor Laws of the State.
On last Friday, Attorney-Genera
PEOPLES gave an opinion with re-
gard to the recent Act of the Gen
eral Assembly commonly known as
the "gallon month" law. Various
sections of the law are discussed al
length. He expresses no opinion
on the constitutionality of the law
as this question is soon to be tested
in the courts. The opinion is OF
some length, but as it is of genera
interest it is here given at length.
The Opinion.
81 am receipt of yours of the
18th inst, in which you ask:
"First. Can a man or boy carry
a bottle containing whiskey in his
pocket without violating the law?
"Second. Can take the bottle off
mis- person without an arrest war
rant?
"Third. Does the law give me
the right to seize all over one gal
lon on the way to destination or
any place of business?
Fourth. Can I go into the ex-
press Office and look over the pur-
chases without violating the law?'
. 81 am herewith irclosing you a
copy of the act, commonly known as
the 'gallon-a-month' act, which was
approved by the governor on the
goth day of February, 1915.
'In the case of the State VS..
Rookard, 81 S. C. 443, the supreme
court held that "a legal sale and pur
chase carries the right to the pur-
chaser to keep in his possession the
liquor he has purchased, provided he
does not apply it to an unlawful use.
The court further said, 1T follows
that the provision of the act of 1909
making it unlawful to keep in pos
session in this state Intoxicating IL
quors except as hereinafter pro-
vided' means that it should be mis-
demeanor to keep in possession IL
quor which had been unlawfully OBJ
tanned; that is, obtained in a manner
not recognized as lawful by that
act or the unrepealed provision of
the act of 1907, or to keep in pos
session for sale or some other use
forbidden by the statute, liquor
lawfully obtained.
Two Lawful Ways.
"Under the present liquor laws,
liquor may be obtained lawfully in
the following manner: First, by Or
dering and receiving from without
the state for personal use not ex-
ceeding one gallon in any calendar
month, and second, by purchasing
from county dispensary.
"When a person obtains liquors
in one of these lawful manners and
it is obtained for a lawful use, he
has the right, in my opinion, to con-
vey it from the place of purchase
or from the place of its receipt from
the common carrier which mas trans
ported it to his home, where he has
a right to store it and keep it in
his possession. He has not the right
under the 'gallon-a-month act to
store it or keep it in any place of
business or club room or house, en-
cept in his own home or private
room.
"The expressions storing and
keeping in possession in so far as
whiskey is concerned, have been de-
fined by our supreme court in the
case of Easley VS.. Peg. 63 S. C. 9S,
in which the court says: "The off
ense of storing and keeping in pos
session contraband liquors invol-
YES the idea of continuity or habit.
1t may be that proof of having in
possession any quantity Of contra
band liquor would be sufficient to
convict of the offense, if the circum-
stances were such as to induce be-
lief that the liquor was stored and
kept in possession habitually.'
AS to your second and third ques-
tions, / will say that section 831 of
the code of laws of 1912, volume 2,
provides that any person detected in