Case Title: Lloyd v. State

Citation: 629 So. 2d 660

Docket Number: 1920181

State: alabama

Court: Alabama Supreme Court

Date: 1993-07-23T00:00:00Z

Document:
629 So. 2d 660 (1993)
Ex parte State of Alabama.
Re Johnny M. LLOYD
v.
STATE.
1920181.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
July 23, 1993.
James H. Evans, Atty. Gen., and Gregory O. Griffin, Asst. Atty. Gen., for petitioner.
Diana D. Mock, Andalusia, for respondent.
KENNEDY, Justice.
We have granted the State's petition for certiorari review of the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals reversing the defendant's conviction and remanding for the entry of a judgment of acquittal.
Johnny M. Lloyd was found guilty of "unlawful possession of marijuana in the first degree," § 13A-12-213, on a finding that he had possessed marijuana for personal use only after having been previously convicted of unlawful possession of marijuana for personal use only. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction, holding that the State had failed to prove that Lloyd possessed the marijuana for personal use.
The Court of Criminal Appeals set out the facts in Lloyd v. State, 629 So. 2d 658 (Ala. Crim.App.1992). However, we feel it necessary to recite the facts as found by that court in order to better present the issues in this case.
629 So. 2d  at 658-59.
We note that the Court of Criminal Appeals pretermitted discussion of Lloyd's allegations of an illegal search and seizure, stating, "If the case turned on those allegations, we would affirm." We agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals on the search and seizure issue. However, we disagree with that court's holding that the State failed to prove that the possession of marijuana was for personal use.
Section 13A-12-213 provides:
In a prosecution for first degree possession of marijuana, the accused has no burden to convince the jury, as under prior law, that his possession was for personal use only. The State must plead and prove the specific offense committed under § 13A-12-213. Watley v. State, 568 So. 2d 852 (Ala.Cr. App.1989), writ quashed as improvidently granted, 568 So. 2d 857 (Ala.1990).
The trial court admitted, without objection, evidence of Lloyd's prior conviction for possession of marijuana for personal use. (R.T. 12). Certainly, the jury could infer from the evidence presented that the marijuana was for Lloyd's personal use. The police had information from an informant that Lloyd would be in a particular car and that there would be marijuana in the car. The minuscule amount of marijuana was found on a cigarette paper inside Lloyd's wallet-type pocketbook, which was found lying on Lloyd's lap. Had a large quantity of marijuana *662 been found, that would support the inference that the possession was not for personal use. See, Sawyer v. State, 50 Ala. App. 490, 280 So. 2d 196 (1973).
Based on the foregoing, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
MADDOX, SHORES, ADAMS, HOUSTON, STEAGALL and INGRAM, JJ., concur.