EX PARTE P. T. MCCLELLAN
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The Florida Supreme Court reversed a lower court's decision denying a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the law under which the petitioner was convicted was unconstitutional. This decision effectively discharged the petitioner from custody.
No, the law under which McClellan was convicted was unconstitutional. Therefore, his conviction and sentence were void, and the Circuit Court erred in denying the writ of habeas corpus.
“In the case of Ex Parte James Francis this day decided here we have fully disposed of the questions presented in this cause, by adjudging said Chapter 7284, Laws approved May 1st, 1917, to be unconstitutional in the particulars involving the charge of which the relator was convicted.”
This quote establishes the core legal precedent relied upon by the court.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceP. T. McClellan was convicted by a County Judge for violating a state law concerning the unlawful possession and transportation of intoxicating liquor…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Habeas Corpus Review cases and more on FLexlaw
Taylor, J.
P. T. McClellan on an affidavit made before the County Judge of Suwannee County, charging him with a violation of Chapter 7284, Laws approved May 1st, 1917, in unlawfully possessing, and unlawfully transporting into a dry county more than one quart of intoxicating liquors in a period of thirty days, was tried before said County Judge and convicted and sentenced to a fine and imprisonment, and afterwards sued out the writ of habeas corpus before the Circuit Court. On the hearing on habeas corpus the Circuit Judge remanded him to custody under the sentence imposed on him by the County Judge, and dismissed the writ of habeas corpus, and he brings this judgment here for review by writ of error. In the case of Ex Parte James Francis this day decided here we have fully disposed of the questions presented in this cause, by adjudging said Chapter 7284, Laws approved May 1st, 1917, to be unconstitutional in the particulars involving the charge of which the relator was convicted. It follows that the relator was convicted and sentenced for a supposed crime that does not and cannot exist under any valid law of this State; and, therefore, his said conviction and sentence are void, and the judgment of the Circuit Court is hereby reversed, and the relator is discharged from further custody, at the cost of Suwannee County.
Browne, C. J., and Ellis, J., concur. Whitfield and West, J. J., dissent.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Powell, 118 Fla. 296 (Fla. 1935)…t case dissented from the conclusion reached and held to the view that the Constitution did not limit the power of the Legislature to regulate the transportation and possession of intoxicating liquor in dry counties. The case of Ex Parte MeClellan, 76 Fla. 348, 79 South. Rep. 762, and the case of Ex Parte Ayres, 76 Fla. 350, 79 South. Rep. 763, followed the law as announced in the case of Ex Parte Francis, supra. Chapter 7733, Laws' of Florida, 1918, above referred to in this opinion, was enacted in Dece…