Where could a driver carry an opened liquor container in a South Carolina pickup truck or station wagon?

Plain-English summary

A police chief asked what counted as a vehicle’s “cargo area” under the 1996 rule for transporting an opened liquor container. The AG read the exception as the space designed or customarily used for a vehicle’s load, away from the driver. It identified a pickup bed and the space behind a station wagon’s last seat as examples from earlier opinions.

The opinion said a glove compartment or small storage area beside the driver was not a cargo area for that purpose. Its focus was whether the opened container was in the statutory luggage or cargo space, rather than merely hidden in some compartment within the passenger area.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Did a pickup bed count as a cargo area?

The AG cited an earlier opinion placing the bed of a pickup within the exception for an opened liquor container.

What about the area behind a station wagon’s last seat?

The opinion also treated that space as the vehicle’s luggage area under its earlier guidance.

Could the glove box hold an opened liquor container under this exception?

No. The AG said the glove box was not the vehicle’s cargo area.

Did any storage compartment near the driver qualify?

No. The opinion rejected small compartments beside the driver as substitutes for luggage or cargo space.

Background and legal framework

Section 61-5-20(1) allowed transport of liquor generally but restricted transportation of an opened container in a motor vehicle to its luggage compartment or cargo area. The AG used the statute’s purpose, ordinary meaning of cargo, and earlier agency rules and AG opinions to distinguish the vehicle’s carrying space from areas accessible to the driver.

Citations

• Section 61-5-20(1).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/january-5-1996/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/96jan5suttles.pdf

Original opinion text

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The State of South Carolina

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
CHARLES MOLONY COND<;>N
ATIORNEY GENERAL

January 5, 1996

Scott Suttles, Chief of Police
Lyman Police Department
59 Groce Road
Lyman, South Carolina 29365
Re: Informal Opinion
Dear Chief Suttles:
You have asked our advice as to the meaning of the term "cargo area" as used in S.C. Cod·e Ann. Section 61-5-20(1). That Subsection provides: ( 1) Any person may transport alcoholic liquors to and from any place where alcoholic liquors may be lawfully possessed or consumed; but if the cap or seal on the container has been opened or broken, it shall be unlawful to transport such liquors in any motor vehicle, except in the luggage comp~ent or cargo area. (emphasis added).
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Several principles of statutoxy construction are pertinent here. Of course, the cardinal tenet when interpreting a statute is to determine legislative 4ttent. State v. Martin, 293 S.C. 46, 358 S.E.2d 697 (1987). The statute should be given a reasonable and practical construction which is consistent with the purpose and policy expressed therein. Jones v. S.C. State Hwy. Dept., 247 S.C. 132, 146 S.E.2d 166 (1966). Words used in a statute must be given their plain and ordinary meaning without resort to subtle or forced construction to limit or expand the statute's operation. State v. Blackmon, 304 S.C. 270, 403 S.E.2d 660 (1991). Finally, courts have held that a remedial statute should be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose, S.C. Dept. of Mental Health v. Hanna, 270 S.C. 210, 241 S.E.2d 563 (1978) and that provisos or exceptions contained in a statute should be strictly construed. Barringer v. Dinkier Hotels Co., 61 F.2d 82 (4th Cir. 1932). RBI BERT

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POST 0FACE Box 11549

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COLUMBIA.

s.c. 2920-1549

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TELEPHONE:

803-734-3970

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FACSIMl:.E 803-253-6283

Chief Suttles
Page 2
January 5, 1996
The obvious purpose of Section 61-5-20(1) is to broadly prohibit the transportation of alcoholic liquors in a motor vehicle where the seal or cap is broken except in certain limited circumstances, i.e. where such· transportation is in "the luggage compartment or cargo area" of the vehicle. Manifestly, the intent of the General Assembly was to insure that the unsealed liquor was not available or accessible to the driver of the motor vehicle while driving. The term "cargo" norm~lly means the load of a vessel or other instrumentality. Su v. Ml'./ Southern Aster, 978 F.2d 462, 469 (9th Cir. 1992). It signifies the load or freight of a vehicle. Websters Third New International Dictionary. Thus, the "cargo area" of a vehicle is the place where the load or freight is usually placed. In previous opinions, this Office has recognized this application as it relates to Section 61-5-20(1). An opinion, dated November 14, 1967 addressed the issue of the "proper place for the possession and transportation of liquor in a pickup truck or a station wagon when the seal has been broken. There, we cited Rules 4 and 5 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission, which stated: 11

The term 'luggage compartment' shall mean the trunk
of a motor vehicle which possesses such; however, with respect to a motor vehicle which does not contain a trunk, the term 'luggage compartment' shall refer to the area of the motor vehicle in which the manufacturer designed that luggage be carried or to the area of the motor vehicle in which luggage is customarily carried. In regard to a station wagon, the term 'luggage compartment' shall refer to the area behind the last seat. Rule 5 of the Commission defines cargo area as follows: The term 'cargo area' shall mean the area without and behind the cab of a truck which is designed by the manufacturer for the boarding of goods or materials or the area without and behind the cab of a truck which is customarily used for the boarding of goods or materials. Thus, the opinion concluded:
[i]t would appear, then, that one may possess a liquor container which has its seal broken in the area behind the last

Chief Suttles
Page 3
January 5, 1996
seat when a station wagon is involved and within the bed of a pickup truck. See also Op. Attv. Gen., January 3, 1968. Of course, since these opinions were ·written,. other types of motor vehicles have emerged upon the scene. It would appear, however, that regardless of the type of vehicle involved, the "cargo area" of the vehicle (if it has one) would ordinarily be that area "designed by the manufacturer for the boarding of goods or materials or the area without and behind the cab of a truck which is customarily used for the boarding of goods or materials. Other compartments in the vehicle, such as the·compartment next to the driver in the seat where small items are commonly stored (containing e.g. cassettes) or the glove compartment, for example, would not fit within the statutory exception for possession and transportation of unsealed alcoholic liquors. 11

This letter is an informal opinion only. It has been written by a designated Assistant Deputy Attorney General and represents the position of the undersigned attorney as to the specific questions asked. It has not, however, been personally scrutinized by the Attorney General nor officially published in the manner of a formal opinion. With kind regards, I am

;
Robert D. Cook
Assistant Deputy Attorney General
RDC/an