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Opinion editorials Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out |
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opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Monday, November 02, 2009
School Zone Dealing Law Warrants 'a Fix'
School Zone Dealing Law Warrants 'a Fix'
Surely we can all agree that dealing illegal drugs near a school should not be tolerated and should get dealers extra jail time and bigger fines.
However, a recent New Mexico Court of Appeals ruling overturning a dealer's conviction for conspiring to sell drugs in a drug-free school zone jeopardizes enhanced penalties.
The court let stand Terry Wilson's conviction for trafficking cocaine but reversed his conviction of conspiracy to traffic within a drug-free school zone after he was busted for selling drugs to undercover officers 893 feet from Emerson Elementary School.
That might not make sense at first blush, but the ruling holds up under more careful scrutiny.
The judges found that not only did Wilson not know he was in a school zone, neither did the officers who busted him. That charge was tacked on later.
The Legislature created an additional offense to go with trafficking a controlled substance if it's done within a drug-free school zone. But here's the catch: The law states a person has to knowingly deal drugs within the zone to be guilty of a first-degree felony.
The court's conclusion makes sense, but it's a classic example of a bad facts making bad law.
We need to keep drug dealing off of school grounds. That will be even tougher with the proliferation of publicly funded charter schools in strip malls and other nontraditional settings, where knowing when you're near a school may not be obvious.
New Mexico lawmakers should re-examine the statute to see if they can strike the right balance.
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