Opinion ID: 780224
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intent to Distribute Within 1,000 Feet of School

Text: 32 21 U.S.C. § 860(a) is an offense that enhances the penalty for [a]ny person who violates section 841(a)(1) or section 856 of [Title 21] by distributing, possessing with intent to distribute, or manufacturing a controlled substance in or on, or within one thousand feet of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary ... school.... 21 U.S.C. § 860(a) (emphasis added). Defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial in this case was insufficient to convict him of violating 21 U.S.C. § 860(a) because the district court did not require the Government to prove as an essential element of the crime that Defendant intended to distribute cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school. 2 The issue of whether § 860(a) requires an intent to distribute a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school, as opposed to mere possession with an intent to distribute the controlled substance somewhere, is one of first impression for our court. Because the question hinges on the interpretation of a statute, we review the district court's decision de novo. United States v. Jackson, 248 F.3d 1028, 1030 (10th Cir.2001) (citation omitted). 33 Five of our sister circuits have previously addressed the precise issue before us today, and each has adopted a broad reading of § 860(a) by holding that the government need only prove that the defendant possessed illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and intended to distribute them somewhere. See United States v. Ortiz, 146 F.3d 25, 28-30 (1st Cir.1998); United States v. Lloyd, 10 F.3d 1197, 1218 (6th Cir.1993); United States v. McDonald, 991 F.2d 866, 868-71 (D.C.Cir.1993); United States v. Rodriguez, 961 F.2d 1089, 1090-95 (3d Cir.1992); United States v. Wake, 948 F.2d 1422, 1429-34 (5th Cir.1991); see also United States v. Hohn, 8 F.3d 1301, 1307 (8th Cir.1993) (stating, in the context of addressing the defendant's claim that § 860(a) should not apply because the school he was accused of distributing drugs within 1,000 feet of was closed for remodeling at the time, that [f]or conviction, [§ 860(a)] simply requires that the defendant have an intent to distribute (or manufacture) a controlled substance and at the time be within 1000 feet of a school.); United States v. Walker, 993 F.2d 196, 198-99 (9th Cir.1993) (stating that for purposes of applying the sentence enhancement provided for in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.2, [i]t does not matter whether the drugs were sold on school property or to school children, or whether the drugs were merely possessed near the protected location by someone unconnected to the school. It suffices that the drugs are present within 1,000 feet of the school.). On the other hand, several district courts have reached the opposite conclusion and held that the government must prove that the defendant intended to distribute the illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. See United States v. Watson, 788 F.Supp. 22, 23-25 (D.D.C.1992), overruled by McDonald, 991 F.2d at 868-71; United States v. McDonald, 777 F.Supp. 44, 45-47 (D.D.C. 1991), aff'd on other grounds, 991 F.2d 866 (D.C.Cir.1993); United States v. Testa, 768 F.Supp. 221, 222-23 (N.D.Ill.1991); United States v. Coates, 739 F.Supp. 146, 152-53 (S.D.N.Y.1990); United States v. Roberts, 735 F.Supp. 537, 538-43 (S.D.N.Y.1990); United States v. Liranzo, 729 F.Supp. 1012, 1013-14 (S.D.N.Y.1990). 34 We find the reasoning of our sister circuits persuasive and adopt it as the law of this circuit: the government must prove that the defendant possessed illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and intended to distribute them somewhere. Although we need not recap each of the bases relied upon by our sister circuits in their opinions, we note below the bases that we found particularly compelling. 35 First, we agree with the rationale espoused by the Sixth Circuit in Lloyd. There, the court held that because § 860(a) does not have a mens rea requirement, a jury need not find intent on the part of a defendant to distribute illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. Lloyd, 10 F.3d at 1218; see also Wake, 948 F.2d at 1432 (citing United States v. Falu, 776 F.2d 46, 50 (2d Cir.1985)) ([O]ur reading is consistent with a strict liability approach to the statute that recognizes Congress' intent to create a drug-free zone. (emphasis added)). We have likewise held that § 860(a) contains no knowledge requirement. United States v. DeLuna, 10 F.3d 1529, 1534 (10th Cir.1993) (citation omitted). Given this, we believe that a defendant need not intend to distribute drugs within 1,000 feet of a school to be convicted under § 860(a). 36 Second, we agree with the First, Third, and District of Columbia Circuits that the plain language of the statute supports our holding. Ortiz, 146 F.3d at 28; McDonald, 991 F.2d at 869; Rodriguez, 961 F.2d at 1092. As the court in Rodriguez explained: 37 This provision applies to three types of criminal conduct: distributing drugs, possessing drugs with the intent to distribute, and manufacturing drugs. In cases involving the distribution or manufacture of drugs, it is clear that this provision requires that the actus reus must occur within 1000 feet of a school. Accordingly, it is reasonable to interpret the statute as applying in the same way to the offense of possession with intent to distribute. Since the actus reus for this offense is possession, it follows that possession of the drugs, not the intended location for distribution, must be located within 1000 feet of a school. 38 961 F.2d at 1092. 39 Finally, we also agree with the Third, Fifth, and District of Columbia Circuits' reasoning that the inclusion of manufacturing drugs within 1,000 feet of a school as an offense under § 860(a) indicates Congress's concern with the mere presence of large quantities of illegal drugs near schools, not just their distribution near schools. McDonald, 991 F.2d at 869; Rodriguez, 961 F.2d at 1092; Wake, 948 F.2d at 1431, 1433. As the Rodriguez court explained: 40 By prescribing enhanced penalties for the manufacture of drugs near a school (regardless of the intended site of distribution), Congress made clear that it did not wish to confine the schoolyard statute to cases in which a defendant distributes or intends to distribute drugs near a school. Rather, Congress was more broadly concerned about serious drug crimes that occur in proximity to schools. 41 961 F.2d at 1092. 42 Defendant urges us to apply the rule of lenity to adopt his narrow interpretation of § 860(a). We decline to do so. The rule of lenity is not applicable unless there is a grievous ambiguity or uncertainty in the language and structure of the Act such that even after a court has seized every thing from which aid can be derived, it is still left with an ambiguous statute. Chapman v. United States, 500 U.S. 453, 463, 111 S.Ct. 1919, 114 L.Ed.2d 524 (1991) (internal citations, quotations marks, and modifications omitted). Section 860(a) is not grievously ambiguous; therefore, the rule of lenity does not apply. 43 In sum, we hold that to obtain a conviction under § 860(a) for possession with intent to distribute, the government need only prove that the defendant possessed illegal drugs within 1,000 feet of a school and intended to distribute them somewhere. Because the Government presented sufficient evidence in this case to show that Defendant possessed cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school and that he intended to distribute the cocaine base in Mobile, Alabama, we uphold the jury's verdict finding Defendant guilty of violating § 860(a).