What to Do When You Know Someone Is Selling Drugs in a School Zone

Massachusetts Schoolhouse Zone Drug Violations

This is one Massachusetts drug crime that, to put it plainly, you lot "don't want to mess around with." In our view, this is one of the worst drug laws on the books in this state, largely because of the extremely astringent mandatory minimum jail sentences involved, which tin run up to a maximum of fifteen years in state prison. This is largely due to the manner that the statute was written, in response to enormous public pressure level on the Massachusetts Legislature to "do something serious" about drugs and school-age children.

As one sign of just how serious this offense is in Massachusetts, a confidence on a school zone drug violation carries a mandatory minimum prison judgement of two years behind bars. These charges can be a very complicated area of Massachusetts drug crimes, and if you're charged with this criminal offence, you're going to demand an experienced Massachusetts drug crimes defense force lawyer to defend you every bit shortly equally possible in social club to protect your legal rights and preserve all possible defense strategies.

Massachusetts Full general Laws Chapter 94C governs this offense, and information technology provides an additional criminal criminal offence that prosecutors may charge a person with, if and when a defendant is already charged with Possession With Intent To Distribute. Click on that link for a list of penalties for that criminal offence.In upshot, information technology "layers" the two charges on top of each other, and drastically increases the possibility of serving a prison term and beingness forced to pay very high fines, if bedevilled. When can prosecutors bring this additional charge of a Massachusetts school zone drug violation? Answer: Whatever time a person is arrested for Possession With Intent To Distribute, and the offense took place within either 1000 feet of a school or 100 feet of a playground or park. In instance y'all might think that this shouldn't pose a legal trouble for a lot of people, since the average person doesn't see himself equally someone who hangs around schoolyards with the intent to sell illegal drugs to immature kids, you'd exist wrong. Why does the law pose such a adventure to "non drug-dealers," or recreational drug users? Because:

1. The prosecution doesn't need to prove that the defendant intentionally meant to distribute illegal drugs inside the school zone involved, to get a confidence on this charge. All they need to show is that the accused did in fact possess a controlled substance(s) within 1000 anxiety of a school or 100 feet of a park or playground, and that he/she had the intent to distribute the controlled substance(s) somewhere, to anyone. A person could have met a friend in a coffee shop for the purpose of giving him – gratis – a little over an ounce of marijuana for personal use – and if a school is anywhere inside 1000 feet of that meeting place, that's plenty for prosecutors to bring this charge. A person could be in his home or flat doing the same matter, and even so be charged with this crime if the edifice he/she lives in is inside 1000 anxiety of whatever schoolhouse belongings or charter school, or 100 feet of whatever park or playground.


2. The Commune Chaser does not have to bear witness that someone charged with this crime was either on a school property, or that he/she even knew that he/she was within 1000 feet of a schoolhouse, or inside 100 feet of a playground or park, in order to get a conviction. Think that 1000 feet is not that long, and then the chance of triggering this crime shouldn't be that high? Consider this: yard feet is over 3 football fields long. The relevant altitude (whether 1000 anxiety to a school or 100 feet to a park or playground,) is measured every bit a direct line from the school's (or playground's or park'southward) boundary to the location of the alleged human activity. The distance isn't measured by traveling upwards and downward streets, but by a straight line. The result? In the geographic configuration of most cities or towns, measuring thou feet from almost any point will encounter a schoolhouse zone. In many increasingly dense urban and suburban communities, it'southward most incommunicable to not be inside k feet of a school zone at any given time. The Court is simply not going to care what the accused did or didn't know most a school's boundaries, or whether the defendant even knew this law existed. The judicial arroyo is extremely astringent.


3. "Schoolhouse" doesn't mean under this statute what you lot might typically call up of -- an obvious-appearing grammar school, middle school or high school. The legal definition is very broad. A tiny school in a private setting with simply a few students is considered a "school" under this statute.


4. In example you might recollect this constabulary applies just if the arrest occurred during school hours, y'all'd exist wrong: The law applies whether or not the abort occurred earlier school hours, or after school hours, at nights, weekends, and holidays. There's no "vacation" from this law. Also, in example yous think the police might employ only to public schools, you'd exist wrong again: Any and all public or private schools are covered, too equally charter schools and religious schools, however large or minor. Here is a more than detailed listing:

• High Schools
• Junior Loftier Schools
• Unproblematic and Grammar Schools
• Middle Schools
• Charter Schools
• Head Start facilities that are accredited.

Penalties and Penalisation for School Zone Drug Offense:

A defendant who has been bedevilled of a Massachusetts school zone drug violation will exist sentenced to state prison for a term of anywhere from a minimum of 2 ½ years to a maximum of fifteen years, or alternatively to a Canton Jail/Business firm of Correction for a minimum term of 2 ½ years. Nether all circumstances following a guilty verdict, there is a mandatory minimum prison or jail sentence of 2 years. This is for the school zone drug violation solitary, in addition to whatsoever sentence for a Possession With Intent To Distribute charge or a Massachusetts Drug Trafficking charge. Higher up and across a prison or jail term, a fine of a minimum $1,000.00 to a maximum $x,000.00 will also be imposed. A note about "mandatory minimum sentencing": This term means that, following a guilty finding, a judge has no pick but to sentence a defendant to ane of the to a higher place mandatory minimum periods of incarceration. The judge cannot show any mercy, or exercise any discretion in sentencing. Also, there is a major divergence between a County Jail/House of Correction, and a State Prison: County Jails typically house lower-level offenders who are not by and large very violent. State prison house is birthday unlike: Trust us, you don't want to terminate upwardly there.

Make The Correct Choice In Selecting Your School Zone Violations Defense Chaser

Y'all tin can see the severe approach to this law-breaking. The legislative objective of this law is to ensure that school zones are drug-complimentary, and the courts have very little tolerance for defendants convicted on this charge. If you or someone you care almost is facing this charge or other Massachusetts drug offenses, the decision yous make about who to hire every bit your attorney will literally determine your future. It would be extremely unwise to choose an attorney that handles these serious drug cases but "occasionally." Information technology would be just as unwise to "shop" for the lowest legal fee available. You volition probably get an inexperienced attorney, who will produce a very substandard result. The proven saying, "You lot get what you pay for," applies to the legal profession just as information technology does for any other profession.

Don't make a serious mistake that could potentially destroy your time to come. Our proven results are among the all-time in the legal profession in Massachusetts. We know how to very aggressively and successfully defend Massachusetts School Zone drug charges and we know how to make sure you are legally protected to the maximum extent possible. We have been very successful in securing either acquittals on these charges, or in reducing the charges to eliminate the exposure to a mandatory minimum prison house or jail sentence. Call us 24 hours a 24-hour interval, seven days a calendar week at Ph.: (781) 320-0062, or at Ph.: (617) 285-3600, or contact us online here for a free initial consultation and we'd be glad to let you know what your legal options are, and how we can help you. The sooner nosotros can start protecting you, the better off you are going to be.

Westwood and Boston, Massachusetts criminal defence force lawyer William D. Kickham has appeared as a legal annotator on a diversity of respected media, including Court TV, Fox News Tv set-25/Boston, The Boston Herald, WBZ-AM Radio 1030, WCVB-TV5/Boston, Nightside With Dan Rea, Greater Boston With Emily Rooney, Coin Matters Radio/Boston, and The Metro Newspaper/Boston. Attorney William D. Kickham is turned to by respected reporters and media organizations in Massachusetts as an authoritative good in the field of criminal defence force law, and the case results he produces for his clients attest to this. Call united states of america today at Ph.: (781) 320-0062, or Ph.: (617) 285-3600, to arrange for a free initial consultation of your case. If the affair is not an emergency, you can email us hither for a free initial consult and we will answer to you very promptly.

What to Do When You Know Someone Is Selling Drugs in a School Zone

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