| Court: | OR Supreme Court |
| Facts: | Cox was a porter during OR's period of state prohibition. He got caught carrying a suitcase full of booze, and the letter of the law suggests that he "possessed" it at that time. |
| Posture: | Appeal from trial |
| Issue: | Did Cox possess intoxicating liquor. |
| Holding: | Not as a matter of law: it's for a jury to determine whether or not he was up to something. |
| Rule: | The Rule of Reason: the purpose of the statute is not to expose people to liability for carrying things they know nothing about. |
| Reasoning: | All laws should receive sensible construction. |
| Dicta: | Dissent: Respect the statute-- knowledge of what you're carrying isn't an element of the crime. The legislature could have made it one, had it cared to. |