State Court Rules Miller Genuine Draft Is Actually Beer

NBC10.com ^ | 8/2/06

[LdSentinal]

READING, Pa. -- A judge who dismissed charges against a man accused of buying a case of beer for a 17-year-old, saying prosecutors failed to prove Miller Genuine Draft was an alcoholic beverage, was mistaken, state Superior Court ruled.

"This finding was incorrect,'' said the Superior Court ruling in the case against Gregg R. Hartman, 44, of Kutztown.

State police had charged Hartman with furnishing liquor to minors. Shawn Putnam, 17, had testified that Hartman bought him a case of Miller Genuine Draft on Jan 7, 2004, at Duffer's Beer Distributor in Kutztown, and Putnam drank five beers within 15 minutes in the car while Hartman was driving around.

Berks County Judge Jeffrey K. Sprecher dismissed the charge, saying the prosecution failed to provide the state Liquor Control Board's list of beers to prove the beverage was beer. "It's equally plausible that the defendant purchased a nonalcoholic beverage with a flavor similar to beer,'' he had ruled.

But the Superior Court judges wrote, "Putnam's testimony was more than enough to establish that the beverage he was drinking was a malt or brewed beverage.''

Assistant District Attorney Douglas J. Waltman Jr. said the case would be listed for trial.

[AmishDude]

Judicial beersnob alert!

[kingu]

This is reason number one why judges should never be lawyers.

[coconutt2000]

Before I quit drinking, Miller Light Draft was my regular brew at my regular pub.

(Because they had a regular special - A pint for $2.)

Glad I quit though.

[Wolfie]

Still, it's good for MGD to get that cleared up.

[pissant]

It's a close call....

[gov_bean_ counter]

Right argument, wrong beer. If it had been a Schlitz the guy may have had a chance.

There is a reason there was a bull on the can.

[gnarledmaw]

The judges name is Sprecher. Maybe he just knew that Miller isnt really beer.

[capt. norm]

State Court Rules Miller Genuine Draft Is Actually Beer

WOW! Coulda fooled me. Sure doesn't taste like beer.

Lucky for the brewery that they got this ruling to prove it is.

Courts are corrupting everything.

[AntiGuv]

Hmm.. Sounds like an activist appeals court to me. The judge made a simple finding of fact that any similarly situated reasonable person might very well make...

[Physicist]

It's a language problem. In Kutzeschtettel the word for "beer" is "Yuengling Lager" or just "lager".

[DollyCali]

Glad to see our courts are addressing impt matters /sarcasm

[teletech]

A judge who dismissed charges against a man accused of buying a case of beer for a 17-year-old, saying prosecutors failed to prove Miller Genuine Draft was an alcoholic beverage, was mistaken, state Superior Court ruled.

Who knew!

[Zeroisanumber]

Easy mistake for the judge to have made. It certainly MGD certainly tastes more like water than beer.

[HIDEK6]

Was Bill Clinton the defense attorney?

I thought he had been disbarred.

[scrabblehack]

Yes, I thought judges were reluctant to overturn facts decided by other judges. Hmmm...this particular judge must have had some expert knowledge, I'll bet...

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

So basically, Sprecher said Hartman furnished Putnam at Duffer's in Kutztown. Me? I'm disappointed by the lack of Homer Simpson jokes. Duffer's?

[Madison Moose]

That's exactly what I thought when I read the name of the judge.

[skinkinthegrass]

Its' Raining Beer....A cloudburst. :D

[lakey]

Assistant District Attorney Douglas J. Waltman Jr. said the case would be listed for trial.

Someone ought to ask why a 44-year old man is not only buying beer for a 17-year-old boy, but driving him around while he drinks it. Sounds like a possible John Wayne Gacy at the wheel.