Kelminski's License

Citations

• 164 Pa. 231
• 30 A. 301
• 1894 Pa. LEXIS 1063

Syllabus

<p>Liquor laws—License—Discretion of court—Acts of 1887 and 1891.</p> <p>The discretion which the court of quarter sessions has in passing upon applications for license, is judicial in its nature, and should be exercised with due regard to the petitions and evidence in each case. The court may, however, refuse to grant a license although the petitions present a prima facie case, if it knows from its own observation and acquaintance that the applicant is not a fit person, or that the house is not necessary for the accommodation of the public.</p> <p>An application for a license was in due form, and was supported by the petition of eighty-five representative citizens of the district certifying to the necessity of the house, and the fitness of the applicant. There was no opposition to the grant of it, and the proofs were altogether in favor of it. The court was without knowledge or the means of knowledge other than that afforded by the petitions filed. Held, that the license should have been granted.</p> <p>There is no distinction between the discretion of the court in granting a wholesale license and its discretion in granting a retail license.</p>