Source: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2014/FC/2014SB-00259-R000609-FC.htm
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 06:26:39+00:00

Document:
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CONNECTICUT SENTENCING COMMISSION REGARDING THE ENHANCED PENALTY FOR THE SALE OR POSSESSION OF DRUGS NEAR SCHOOLS, DAY CARE CENTERS AND PUBLIC HOUSING PROJECTS.
The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. COLEMAN of the 2nd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.
(a) No person shall use or possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia, as defined in subdivision (20) of section 21a-240, to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain or conceal, or to ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body, any controlled substance, as defined in subdivision (9) of section 21a-240, other than a cannabis-type substance in a quantity of less than one-half ounce. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
(b) No person shall deliver, possess with intent to deliver or manufacture with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain or conceal, or to ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body, any controlled substance, other than a cannabis-type substance in a quantity of less than one-half ounce. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(c) Any person who violates subsection (a) or (b) of this section (1) with intent to commit such violation in or on [, or within one thousand five hundred feet of,] a specific location, (2) which location the trier of fact determines is the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school or within two hundred feet of the perimeter of the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, and (3) who is not enrolled as a student in such school, shall be imprisoned for a term of one year which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section.
(d) No person shall (1) use or possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain or conceal, or to ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body, less than one-half ounce of a cannabis-type substance, or (2) deliver, possess with intent to deliver or manufacture with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia knowing, or under circumstances where one reasonably should know, that it will be used to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain or conceal, or to ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body, less than one-half ounce of a cannabis-type substance. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall have committed an infraction.
(e) The provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to any person (1) who in good faith, seeks medical assistance for another person who such person reasonably believes is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance, (2) for whom another person, in good faith, seeks medical assistance, reasonably believing such person is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance, or (3) who reasonably believes he or she is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance and, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for himself or herself, if evidence of the use or possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of said subsection was obtained as a result of the seeking of such medical assistance. For the purposes of this subsection, "good faith" does not include seeking medical assistance during the course of the execution of an arrest warrant or search warrant or a lawful search.
(a) Any person eighteen years of age or older who violates section 21a-277 or 21a-278, and who is not, at the time of such action, a drug-dependent person, by distributing, selling, prescribing, dispensing, offering, giving or administering any controlled substance to another person who is under eighteen years of age and is at least two years younger than such person who is in violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278, shall be imprisoned for a term of two years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278.
(b) Any person who violates section 21a-277 or 21a-278 by manufacturing, distributing, selling, prescribing, dispensing, compounding, transporting with the intent to sell or dispense, possessing with the intent to sell or dispense, offering, giving or administering to another person any controlled substance (1) with intent to commit such violation in or on [, or within one thousand five hundred feet of,] a specific location, and (2) which specific location the trier of fact determines is (A) the real property comprising (i) a public or private elementary or secondary school, (ii) a public housing project, or (iii) a licensed child day care center, as defined in section 19a-77, that is identified as a child day care center by a sign posted in a conspicuous place, or (B) within two hundred feet of the perimeter of the real property comprising such public or private elementary or secondary school, public housing project or licensed child day care center, shall be imprisoned for a term of three years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278. To constitute a violation of this subsection, an act of transporting or possessing a controlled substance shall be with intent to sell or dispense in or on, or within [one thousand five] two hundred feet of the perimeter of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, a public housing project or a licensed child day care center, as defined in section 19a-77, that is identified as a child day care center by a sign posted in a conspicuous place. For the purposes of this subsection, "public housing project" means dwelling accommodations operated as a state or federally subsidized multifamily housing project by a housing authority, nonprofit corporation or municipal developer, as defined in section 8-39, pursuant to chapter 128 or by the Connecticut Housing Authority pursuant to chapter 129.
(c) Any person who employs, hires, uses, persuades, induces, entices or coerces a person under eighteen years of age to violate section 21a-277 or 21a-278 shall be imprisoned for a term of three years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278.
(b) Any person who possesses or has under his control any quantity of a hallucinogenic substance other than marijuana or four ounces or more of a cannabis-type substance, except as authorized in this chapter, for a first offense, shall be guilty of a class D felony, and for a subsequent offense shall be guilty of a class C felony.
(c) Any person who possesses or has under his control any quantity of any controlled substance other than a narcotic substance, or a hallucinogenic substance other than marijuana or who possesses or has under his control one-half ounce or more but less than four ounces of a cannabis-type substance, except as authorized in this chapter, (1) for a first offense, may be fined not more than one thousand dollars or be imprisoned not more than one year, or be both fined and imprisoned; and (2) for a subsequent offense, shall be guilty of a class D felony.
(d) Any person who violates subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section in or on, or within [one thousand five] two hundred feet of [,] the perimeter of the real property comprising (1) a public or private elementary or secondary school and who is not enrolled as a student in such school, or (2) a licensed child day care center, as defined in section 19a-77, that is identified as a child day care center by a sign posted in a conspicuous place shall be imprisoned for a term of two years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section.
(e) As an alternative to the sentences specified in subsections (a) and (b) and specified for a subsequent offense under subsection (c) of this section, the court may sentence the person to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction for an indeterminate term not to exceed three years or the maximum term specified for the offense, whichever is the lesser, and at any time within such indeterminate term and without regard to any other provision of law regarding minimum term of confinement, the Commissioner of Correction may release the convicted person so sentenced subject to such conditions as he may impose including, but not limited to, supervision by suitable authority. At any time during such indeterminate term, the Commissioner of Correction may revoke any such conditional release in his discretion for violation of the conditions imposed and return the convicted person to a correctional institution.
(f) To the extent that it is possible, medical treatment rather than criminal sanctions shall be afforded individuals who breathe, inhale, sniff or drink the volatile substances defined in subdivision (49) of section 21a-240.
(g) The provisions of subsections (a) to (c), inclusive, of this section shall not apply to any person (1) who in good faith, seeks medical assistance for another person who such person reasonably believes is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance, (2) for whom another person, in good faith, seeks medical assistance, reasonably believing such person is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance, or (3) who reasonably believes he or she is experiencing an overdose from the ingestion, inhalation or injection of intoxicating liquor or any drug or substance and, in good faith, seeks medical assistance for himself or herself, if evidence of the possession or control of a controlled substance in violation of subsection (a), (b) or (c) of this section was obtained as a result of the seeking of such medical assistance. For the purposes of this subsection, "good faith" does not include seeking medical assistance during the course of the execution of an arrest warrant or search warrant or a lawful search.
The bill results in a potential savings to the Department of Correction related to fewer convictions and prison sentences for violations of statutes pertaining to drug-free zones around schools, day care facilities, and public housing. By reducing the drug-free zone from 1,500 to 200 feet, as well as requiring the trier of the case to determine intent, the bill will likely reduce the number of convictions under these statutes. On average, 46 inmates are convicted under the statutes changed in the bill. It costs the state approximately $50,690 annually (including fringe benefits) to incarcerate an inmate.
This bill reduces the scope of laws enhancing the penalties for illegal drug activities near schools, licensed day care centers, and public housing projects (i.e., drug-free zones). It reduces the size of these zones from 1,500 to 200 feet and specifies that they are measured from the perimeter of the property.
The bill also provides that for the enhanced penalty to apply for some of these crimes, the offender must commit the crime with the intent to do so in a specific location which the trier of fact (i.e., the jury or judge) determines is within such a zone. This applies to violations involving drug paraphernalia or illegal drug sales and related crimes (such as possession with intent to sell), but not to illegal possession. To the extent this provision applies to illegal drug sales and related crimes, it codifies case law (see BACKGROUND).
3. three years for selling illegal drugs, transporting or possessing them with intent to sell, or related crimes within 1,500 feet of property comprising a (a) public or private elementary or secondary school, (b) licensed child day care center identified by a conspicuous sign, or (c) public housing project.
The enhanced penalties described above do not apply to (1) drug paraphernalia-related actions involving less than one-half ounce of marijuana or (2) possessing less than one-half ounce of marijuana. PA 11-71 removed the criminal penalties for such actions and generally made them punishable by fines only.
Also, judges can impose less than the law's mandatory minimum sentence under the laws described above when no one was hurt during the crime and the defendant (1) did not use or attempt or threaten to use physical force; (2) was unarmed; and (3) did not threaten to use or suggest that he or she had a firearm, other deadly weapon, or other instrument that could cause death or serious injury. Defendants must show good cause and can invoke these provisions only once. Judges must state at sentencing hearings their reasons for (1) imposing the sentence and (2) departing from the mandatory minimum (CGS § 21a-283a).
By law, if a nonaddicted adult is convicted of selling or giving illegal drugs to a minor at least two years younger, there is a mandatory two-year prison term in addition and consecutive to any prison term imposed for the underlying crime (CGS § 21a-278a(a)).
If someone is convicted of hiring or persuading a minor to sell illegal drugs or to commit related crimes, there is a mandatory three-year prison term in addition and consecutive to any prison term imposed for the underlying crime (CGS § 21a-278a(c)).
In a series of cases, the Connecticut Supreme Court has interpreted the statute setting enhanced penalties for drug sales and related crimes in drug-free zones as requiring the state to prove that the defendant intended to sell drugs at a specific location, which location is within such a zone. The state does not have to prove that the defendant knew that the location was within such a zone (see State v. Denby, 235 Conn. 477 (1995); State v. Hedge, 297 Conn. 621 (2010); State v. Lewis, 303 Conn. 760 (2012)).
For example, in Lewis, the defendant was charged with four drug crimes, including possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school. The court upheld the Appellate Court's determination that there was insufficient evidence that the defendant intended to sell drugs at the place where he was arrested.
The defendant was arrested a block from his home, with a large amount of drugs and cash on his person. He was stopped by police because he resembled a suspect in another crime, not because the police suspected an impending drug sale. The court concluded that while the evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict that the defendant intended to sell drugs, it was insufficient to establish that he intended to sell drugs where he was arrested (a location within a drug-free school zone).

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