Davis v. State

MAXWELL, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Currie Glen Davis was convicted of “possession of beer.” But in Mississippi, possession of beer, in and of itself, is not a crime. What is a crime is possession of beer in a “dry” county — any county that has elected to prohibit the transportation, storage, sale, distribution, receipt, or manufacture of beer.1 And the State asserts it is this crime for which Davis stands convicted.

¶ 2. But the crime of possession of beer in a dry county has two essential elements — (1) the possession of beer (2) in a county that has elected to prohibit beer.2 And missing from…