In Re Mingo

Defendant was convicted of having intoxicating liquor in his possession and sentenced to pay a fine of five hundred dollars and to be imprisoned ninety days in jail. The Volstead Act and the Wright Act make the first offense punishable by fine only. An ordinance of Kings County, adopted January 5, 1922, prescribes as the maximum for such offense a fine of five hundred dollars and imprisonment for not more than ninety days. The complaint charged a violation of this ordinance. The question presented is whether the ordinance fixing a greater punishment than is prescribed by the state law for the…