NJ REDUCED DRUG PENALTIES IN SCHOOL ZONE

New state law reduces drug penalties in school zones

A new bill signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine last week rolls back mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenders caught within school and park zones. While the law has been praised by groups that claim the old law had a disproportionate effect on minorities, some local law enforcement officials are concerned whether it sends the wrong message.

The bill was co-sponsored by Englewood Assemblyman Gordon M. Johnson and Trenton Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. Prior to the passage of the new legislation, anyone within 1,000 feet of a school or within 500 feet of a library or park caught either distributing drugs or in possession of drugs with the intent to distribute was sentenced to three years in prison without chance of parole.

The new law allows judges to waive the minimum prison term or parole ineligibility depending on the circumstances of the case. Judges can take into consideration the defendant’s prior criminal record, how far away from the school the offense took place, whether school was in session at the time and whether minors were present at the scene of the offense or were reasonably likely to be exposed to drug-related activity.

Defenders of the bill have argued that the old law had a disproportionately large effect on blacks and Hispanics because cities and other densely populated areas become almost entirely covered by school zones.

“Our insistence on mandatory minimums combined with the disparate geographic distribution of Drug-Free School Zones has created a situation in which 96 percent of the individuals imprisoned for dealing drugs within the zones are black or Hispanic,” said Johnson, who was Bergen County Undersheriff from 1999 to 2005. “When a policy so disproportionately affects a single group, we must take corrective action.”

“The mandatory minimum sentencing the zones require has effectively created two different sentences for the same crime, depending on where an individual lives,” said Coleman. “This is geographic discrimination at its most basic.”

However, the law doesn’t sit well with local police officers who believe it’s a step in the wrong legislative direction.

Chief Larry Minda of the East Rutherford Police Department said that he has faith that local judges will continue to sentence drug offenders appropriately and that giving judges greater leeway won’t necessarily translate into greater leniency for drug dealers. Nevertheless, he said that between laws like this and New Jersey’s recent legalization of medical marijuana, he is concerned that the appearance will be one of a general laxness towards drug laws.

“My concern is what kind of mixed message this could send out,” said Minda. “I certainly think it could be interpreted [as greater leniency] by people who lack respect for the law.”

“I think it’s a big step backwards from where we were headed,” said John Thompson, Rutherford’s civilian police director. “Instead of being tough on drugs we’re going in the other direction.” Thompson particularly noted a provision in the law that will allow inmates currently serving prison time to appeal their sentences on the basis of the change in the law.

“That’s a kick [to police],” he said.

However, representatives of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a national non-profit organization that works to oppose mandatory minimum sentences at both the federal and the state level, praised the state’s decision, saying that its previous statutes did little to curb drug crimes.

“Mandatory minimums in New Jersey have filled our prisons with drug addicts instead of drug kingpins, caused the erosion of faith in the fairness of the criminal justice system because of severe racial disparities, and wasted millions without protecting public safety,” said FAMM’s director of state legislative affairs, Deborah Fleischaker.

Statewide, 3,622 people were convicted of selling drugs within school zones in 2008. Under the new law, many will get the chance to have their sentences reviewed and possibly lessened.