Court Opinion

ID: 9656764
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 19:59:32.721436+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:35.370466
License: Public Domain

Andree LAYTON Roaf, Judge, concurring. I reluctantly concur in affirming Steven Sanders’ conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia, a felony for which he received a three-year sentence in addition to the ten-year sentence he received for possession of the contraband that was found inside the cigar case. The relevant statutory provision, Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-101(v)(10), defines drug paraphernalia as follows: (v) The term “drug paraphernalia” means all equipment, products and materials of any kind which are used, . . . in . . . storing, containing, concealing, ... a controlled substance. ... It includes, but is not limited to: (10) Containers and other objects used, intended for use, or designed for use in storing or concealing controlled substances; A cigar case is certainly a “product” or “material” and is a “container or other object.” In this instance, Sanders used it to hold his drugs, and, while it may be argued that he was not “storing” or “concealing” the drugs, the case certainly contained the drugs as provided in § 101 (v). Sanders argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for simply possessing the cigar case because it is a container that has no special relation to or adaptation for use with controlled substances. He contends that the drug paraphernalia statute, Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-403 (1999), has been given an “unreasonable interpretation” not intended by our legislature in this instance. Sanders points out and, unfortunately, he is correct, that such an interpretation would likewise support a felony conviction for such an item as a paper bag, an envelope, a baseball cap, a cigarette package, or even a pants pocket.1 Sanders’s argument makes good common sense, however, that is not the kind of authority that this court can employ. Moreover, Sanders acknowledges that our supreme court has held that this statute is not unconstitutionally vague, see Moore v. State, 297 Ark. 296, 761 S.W.2d 894 (1988), Edwards v. State, 300 Ark. 4, 775 S.W.2d 900 (1989), Crail v. State, 309 Ark. 120, 827 S.W.2d 157 (1992), as has the Eighth Circuit court of appeals in Garner v. Whitt, 726, F.2d 1274 (8th Cir. 1984), albeit under different facts. Even so, there is support for Sanders’s argument in both Arkansas case law and cases from other jurisdictions. In Dickerson v. State, 324 Md. 163, 596 A.2d 648 (1991), the Maryland Court of Appeals held that the appellant could be convicted only of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and not also of use of drug paraphernalia, where both convictions were based on possession of a single vial of cocaine. The Maryland drug paraphernalia statute provided in a section almost identical to Arkansas’s that, “[i]t is unlawful for any person to use drug paraphernalia to . . . store, contain or conceal a controlled dangerous substance ...” and contained a definitions section likewise identical to ours. The Maryland court found persuasive the appellant’s argument that the Legislature did not intend to permit dual convictions where the drug paraphernalia conviction is premised solely on the use of a container in which the contraband forming the basis for the drug offense is found. In Arkansas, there are many cases, too numerous to list, involving a conviction for possession of multiple drug-related items, or “paraphernalia,” and where drugs and paraphernalia items were also found in a “box” or “bag” or other similar, otherwise innocuous container. While these cases are numerous, it is significant that I have not found any of these cases to include, directly or by inference, the box or bag within paraphernalia enumerated or addressed in the court’s analysis. See e.g., Hughes v. State, 74 Ark. App. 126 (2001) (trash bags in which paraphernalia was found not discussed in analysis); Thompson v. State, 333 Ark. 92, 966 S.W.2d 901 (1998) (eyeglass case not analyzed as drug paraphernalia); White v. State, 47 Ark. App. 127, 886 S.W.2d 876 (1994) (Crown Royal bag containing drugs not discussed in sufficiency analysis); Bond v. State, 45 Ark. App. 177, 873 S.W.2d 569 (1994) (pipe as paraphernalia, but paper bag marijuana found in not discussed). However, there are at least two Arkansas cases in which a paraphernalia conviction was based on possession of a single item. In Edwards v. State, supra, the supreme court found that a small vial containing cocaine residue was sufficient evidence to support the conviction because the statute specifically included “cocaine vials.” See Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-101(v)(12)(F). In Crail v. State, supra, the appellant’s felony conviction was based on his possession of a small white pipe that was found to have been used to smoke marijuana, while he received only a misdemeanor conviction for the marijuana he possessed. However, Crail’s appeal of the paraphernalia conviction was based on an equal protection and void-for-vagueness challenge to the paraphernalia statute. Pipes are also specifically fisted as paraphernalia in § 101(v)(12)(A), and it can be argued that these two cases are therefore distinguishable because they involve items bearing a special relation to the use of contraband, however, this is an argument that would best be addressed to our supreme court. Even a dog gets one bite; surely even a miscreant such as Mr. Sanders should get one paper sack, or, in this instance, one cigar case to carry his drugs around in without being twice made a felon for it. However, it is for the Legislature to make the criminal laws, and the prosecutor to employ his very broad power and discretion to determine when and if a charge is to be brought. We can be at least relieved that we have not yet seen the conviction based on possession of a paper sack that Sanders warns of. Perhaps our supreme court would revisit the constitutionality of the paraphernalia statute if that occurs. Until then, because this court lacks the discretion of a legislature or a prosecutor, or the ability to overturn supreme court precedent, I must agree to affirm this conviction.   Webster's New Twentieth Unabridged Dictionary defines “paraphernalia” as 1. personal belongings; 2. Any collection of articles usually used in some activity; equipment, apparatus; trappings; gear. However, Ark. Code Ann. § l-2-203(b) (Repl. 1996), a general provision of statutory construction applicable to all cases, civil and criminal, provides that “[w]henever, in any statute, words importing the plural number are used in describing or referring to any matter, parties, or persons, any single matter, party, or person shall be deemed to be included although distributive words may not be used,” consequently, a conviction for possession of a single item of paraphernalia does not run afoul of the mandate that criminal statutes be strictly construed in favor of an accused.