Opinion ID: 1925460
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: We now turn to Jeffrey's claims regarding his conviction for CPWL in a gun-free zone. Jeffrey argues that the trial court erred in allowing the jury to consider whether he carried a pistol without a license in a gun-free zone. The D.C.Code provides for an enhanced penalty to any person carrying a gun illegally within a gun-free zone, which includes: [a]ll areas within 1000 feet of a public or private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, secondary school .... § 22-3202.1 (1981). Jeffrey contends that, because the evidence at trial showed the distance of 151 feet 7 inches to be from the property line of the school, not the actual building itself, to the location of the gun in the car, the trial court erred in submitting that element to the jury. According to his interpretation of D.C.Code § 22-3202.1 (1981), a gun-free zone is that area within 1000 feet of an elementary school building itself, not within 1000 feet of the school grounds or the school's real property. Because there was no testimony regarding the distance of Wheatley School from the property line or the distance between the gun and Wheatley School, Jeffrey contends, the elements of the statute were not met. Because Jeffrey failed to raise this specific claim in the trial court, we would ordinarily review it for plain error. See Williams v. United States, 858 A.2d 984, 990 (D.C.2004). Due to the importance of the statutory interpretation issue, however, we have decided to review the case de novo. Our first step when interpreting a statute is to look at the language of the statute. See National Geographic Soc'y v. District of Columbia Dep't of Empl. Servs., 721 A.2d 618, 620 (D.C. 1998). We are required to give effect to a statute's plain meaning if the words are clear and unambiguous. See Office of People's Counsel v. Public Serv. Comm'n, 477 A.2d 1079, 1083 (D.C.1984). The primary and general rule of statutory construction is that the intent of the lawmaker is to be found in the language that he has used. Peoples Drug Stores, Inc. v. District of Columbia, 470 A.2d 751, 753 (D.C.1983). Furthermore, in examining the statutory language, it is axiomatic that `the words of the statute should be construed according to their ordinary sense and with the meaning commonly attributed to them.' Id. (quoting Davis v. United States, 397 A.2d 951, 956 (D.C.1979)). `The literal words of [a] statute, however, are not the sole index to legislative intent, but rather, are to be read in the light of the statute taken as a whole, and are to be given a sensible construction and one that would not work an obvious injustice.' Columbia Plaza Tenants' Ass'n v. Columbia Plaza L.P., 869 A.2d 329, 332 (D.C.2005) (quoting Boyle v. Giral, 820 A.2d 561, 568 (D.C.2003)). We must also be mindful that our interpretation is not at variance with the policy of the legislation as a whole, requiring that we remain more faithful to the purpose than the word. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Toward this end, in certain cases, we also consult the legislative history of a statute. See Abadie v. District of Columbia Contract Appeals Bd., 843 A.2d 738, 742 (D.C.2004). Upon a review of the statute, its legislative history, and intended purpose, we hold that a gun-free zone as defined in D.C.Code § 22-3202.1 (1981), recodified at D.C.Code § 22-4502.01 (2001), is the zone within 1000 feet of the grounds and real property of a school, not just the building itself. The text of the gun-free zone statute states: (a) All areas within 1000 feet of a public or private day care center, elementary school, vocational school, secondary school, college, junior college, or university, or any public swimming pool, playground, video arcade, or youth center, or an event sponsored by any of the above entities shall be declared a gun-free zone. (b) Any person illegally carrying a gun within a gun-free zone shall be punished by a fine up to twice that otherwise authorized to be imposed, by a term of imprisonment up to twice that otherwise authorized to be imposed, or both. D.C.Code § 22-3202.1 (1981). Here, although the statute does not explicitly state whether the grounds and real property of the buildings are included in the gun-free zone, it is evident that the statute is intended to protect children from being exposed to criminal activity. The legislative history of the statute makes this point clear. The Committee for the Judiciary of the Council of the District of Columbia stated that the legislation was prompted by gun violence continuing in places where children abound. JAMES E. NATHANSON, BILL 10-265, THE YOUTH FACILITIES FIREARM PROHIBITION AMENDMENT ACT OF 1994, COMM. ON THE JUDICIARY, at 2 (1994). It is the intent of the bill to cover most places where children are intended to congregate. Id. Jeffrey suggests that we read the statute to mean that a gun-free zone must be measured from the actual building itself to the locus of the gun. Were we to adopt Jeffrey's interpretation, however, we would lose sight of the legislative purpose and policy behind this provision. It is difficult to imagine why the legislature would consider only the area within 1000 feet of a school building to be a gun-free zone, but exclude the school grounds, upon which children are just as likely to linger and abound. Such an interpretation is also consistent with our cases interpreting the District drug-free zone statute, which is almost identical to the gun-free zone statute. See Boddie v. United States, 865 A.2d 544, 549 (D.C.2005); compare D.C.Code § 33-547.1 (1997 Supp.) with § 22-3202.1 (1981). Like the gun-free zone statute, the text of the drug-free zone statute does not expressly specify whether the zone includes the area within 1000 feet of the grounds of a school. In Boddie, we determined that because the critical controlling language in the District's [drug-free zone] statute is virtually identical to that in the federal law, the statute should be interpreted in the same way the federal circuits had interpreted it. 865 A.2d at 553. Similarly, it is appropriate for us to take guidance from the federal gun-free zone statute in interpreting our own version. Under the comparable federal statute, a school zone is defined as the area: (1) in, or on the grounds of, a public, parochial or private school; or (2) within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, private or parochial school. 18 U.S.C. § 921(25) (emphasis added). We are satisfied that our interpretation of the D.C. gun-free zone statute is consistent with our federal counterpart. Our interpretation is also consistent with our opinion in Goodson v. United States, 760 A.2d 551 (D.C.2000), in which we first addressed how distance is computed for the 1000-foot requirement in our drug-free zone statute. [7] We held that the evidence was insufficient to sustain appellant's conviction based on the fact that the end point (locus of the drug offense) of the measurement was incorrect. In so holding, however, we stated that: we agree with the D.C. Circuit in interpreting the 1000-foot requirement `to mean the straight-line footage between the closest point within the real property of the school and the locus of the drug offense.' Goodson, supra, 760 A.2d at 554 (quoting United States v. Applewhite, 315 U.S.App. D.C. 222, 226, 72 F.3d 140, 144 (1995)) (emphasis added). Having found that a gun-free zone includes the area within 1000 feet of the grounds and real property of a school and not just the building itself, we now turn to whether the evidence at trial was sufficient to sustain Jeffrey's conviction. In this regard, we review a claim of insufficiency of evidence in the light most favorable to the government, recognizing the province of the trier of fact to weigh the evidence, determine the credibility of the witnesses and to draw reasonable inferences from the testimony. Dickerson v. United States, 650 A.2d 680, 683 (D.C. 1994). Because the undisputed evidence at trial showed that Jeffrey possessed the gun in this case 151 feet and 7 inches from the property line of Wheatley Elementary School, we find the evidence sufficient to sustain his conviction of CPWL in a gun-free zone. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. [8] So ordered.