Court Opinion

ID: 7824153
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2022-09-07 18:03:05.033287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:30:48.905114
License: Public Domain

John I. Purtle, Justice, dissenting. This archaic law is, in my opinion, unconstitutional for vagueness. Moreover, without any valid justification it prohibits some people from doing the very things others are allowed to do. The appellant was apparently guilty of bookmaking or taking bets on horses, just as they do at the racetrack in Hot Springs. My basic disagreement is not so much with the majority opinion as it is with the law and how it has been interpreted over the years. I cannot understand how Ark. Code Ann. § 5-66-103(a) (1987) can be read to include making or accepting bets on horse races. The code reads as follows: Every person who shall keep, conduct, or operate, or who shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in keeping, conducting, or operating any gambling house or place where gambling is carried on, or who shall set up, keep, or exhibit or cause to be set up, kept, or exhibited or assist in setting up, keeping, or exhibiting any gambling device, or who shall be interested directly or indirectly in running any gambling house or setting up and exhibiting any gambling device or devices, either by furnishing money, or other articles for the purpose of carrying on any gambling house shall be deemed guilty of a felony and on conviction shall be confined in the State Penitentiary for not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) years. Other sections of the code are more nearly descriptive of the activities for which the appellant was convicted. Section 104 prohibits the setting up, keeping, or exhibiting of gaming devices. Section 106 establishes the penalty for betting. Then there is the greatest of all the laws in this field, Ark. Code Ann. § 5-66-116(a), which makes it illegal to bet on horse races. It reads as follows: It shall be unlawful to bet in this state, directly or indirectly, by selling or buying pools or otherwise, any money or other valuable thing, on any horse race of any kind whether had or run in this state or out of this state. Naturally, it is not a violation of this act if you make bets on horse races in Hot Springs. See Ark. Code Ann. § 23-110-102 (1987). If people in Hot Springs are able to bet on horse races by the use of totalizators or pari-mutuel betting, why should the people in North Little Rock be denied the opportunity to bet on horse races in a less extravagant manner? If people who can afford to go to Oaklawn, dressed in all their finery and driven in their expensive limousines, are allowed to place their bets in the exclusive preserve of the Jockey Club, why should those less fortunate be denied the opportunity to engage in the same activity elsewhere at much less expense? There are no classes of citizens according to our constitutions; nevertheless, certain “classes” of people seem to think so. I do not. Article 2, section 2, of the Arkansas Constitution states: All men are created equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and inalienable rights, amongst which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness. To secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. The evidence against the appellant consisted primarily of a telephone and a piece of paper called a betting slip, as well as a list of names and addresses with some figures written near the names. Compare these items with what may be found in any home and you will discover the same “evidence” — they are hardly the same devices described in § 5-66-104 that one may expect to find in a “gambling house” as established by § 5-66-103(a). The appellant was also seen leaving or returning to his residence — on several occasions. This type of criminal activity cannot be tolerated in a law-abiding community. There are presently too many unsolved crimes, such as burglaries and drug offenses, and too many hoodlums on the street. It is therefore counterproductive to allow the already understaffed and underpaid police departments to assign teams of several officers to catch bookies, especially in other cities. However, if this law is to be literally enforced against everyone, then I submit that the biggest gambling house of all is located on Central Avenue in Hot Springs, Garland County, Arkansas.