State v. Benniefield

• Decision Date: 22 April 2004
• Docket Number: No. C1-02-1991.,C1-02-1991.
• Citation: 678 N.W.2d 42
• Parties: STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Steven Allen BENNIEFIELD, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

678 N.W.2d 42

STATE of Minnesota, Respondent, v. Steven Allen BENNIEFIELD, Appellant.

No. C1-02-1991.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

April 22, 2004.

John M. Stuart, State Public Defender, Roy G. Spurbeck, Assistant Public Defender, Minneapolis, MN, for Appellant.

Mike Hatch, Attorney General, Thomas R. Ragatz, Assistant Attorney General, St. Paul, MN, Raymond F. Schmitz, Olmsted County Attorney, Rochester, MN, for Respondent.

HEARD, considered, and decided by the court en banc.

OPINION

HANSON, Justice.

Appellant was convicted of third-degree possession of a controlled substance within a school zone. He argues that punishing possession within a school zone more harshly than possession outside a school zone violates the equal protection guaranty of the Minnesota Constitution. Alternatively, he argues that a conviction of this crime requires proof that he either knew he was in a school zone or intended to commit the crime in a school zone. Because there is a rational basis to enhance the crime where possession occurs within a school zone, and the plain language of the statute does not impose a mens rea requirement on the location element of the crime, we affirm.

On December 17, 2001, at approximately 11:00 p.m., police officer John Fishbauger noticed appellant Steven Allen Benniefield walking at the corner of 7th Avenue and 6th Street Southeast in Rochester, Minnesota, within approximately 61 feet of the Riverside School property line. The officer recognized Benniefield from previous encounters and checked with police dispatch to see if there were any outstanding warrants for his arrest. After being informed that there was an outstanding warrant for Benniefield, Officer Fishbauger stopped Benniefield and placed him under arrest. During a pat-down search, the officer discovered a makeshift crack pipe in Benniefield's pocket.

Benniefield was placed in another officer's squad car and taken directly to the adult detention center. When the transporting officer searched his squad car, he found a baggie containing small off-white colored "rocks." These rocks were later identified as containing 1.10 grams of cocaine.

Benniefield was charged with violation under Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4) (2000), a third-degree controlled substance offense for possession of any amount of a Schedule II narcotic drug "in a school zone, a park zone, a public housing zone, or a drug treatment facility." Cocaine is a Schedule II narcotic drug. Minn.Stat. § 152.01, subd. 10 (2002). A school zone is defined as:

(1) any property owned, leased, or controlled by a school district or an organization operating a nonpublic school, as defined in section 123B.41, subdivision 9, where an elementary, middle, secondary school, secondary vocational center or other school providing educational services in grade one through grade 12 is located, or used for educational purposes, or where extracurricular or cocurricular activities are regularly provided;

(2) the area surrounding school property as described in clause (1) to a distance of 300 feet or one city block, whichever distance is greater, beyond the school property; and

(3) the area within a school bus when that bus is being used to transport one or more elementary or secondary school students.

Minn.Stat. § 152.01, subd. 14a (2002).

Benniefield represented himself at trial. In his opening statement, Benniefield informed the jury that he had not intended to be in a school zone, that he was merely on his way home from work, and that this was the most direct route to his home. The state filed a motion in limine requesting that the court not allow Benniefield to argue that intent to be in a school zone or knowledge of being in the school zone was a necessary element of the crime. The district court granted the motion in limine. Benniefield presented no witnesses and did not testify himself.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty. The court denied Benniefield's motion for a new trial and sentenced him to 37 months in prison for third-degree possession, a severity VI level offense. According to the sentencing guidelines in effect at that time, the presumptive sentence with a criminal history score of 3 was from 37 to 41 months. See Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines IV.

On direct appeal, Benniefield argued that punishing for possession of a controlled substance in a school zone more harshly than possession outside a school zone violates equal protection and that the district court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the offense required proof of intent to be in a school zone. See State v. Benniefield, 668 N.W.2d 430, 433 (Minn. App.2003). The court of appeals affirmed the conviction.¹ Id. at 435-38.

I.

Benniefield challenges the constitutionality of Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4), on equal protection grounds. Unless a fundamental right or suspect class is involved, statutes are presumed to be constitutional. Rio Vista Non-Profit Housing Corp. v. Ramsey County, 335 N.W.2d 242, 245 (Minn.1983). We will hold a statute unconstitutional "only when absolutely necessary." State v. Behl, 564 N.W.2d 560, 566 (Minn.1997). We review the constitutionality of a statute de novo. State v. Machholz, 574 N.W.2d 415, 419 (Minn. 1998). A defendant, claiming that a statute is unconstitutional, bears the burden of showing that the statute is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. Scott v. Minneapolis Police Relief Ass'n, Inc., 615 N.W.2d 66, 73 (Minn.2000).

Benniefield did not challenge the constitutionality of the statute at trial. We need not consider issues that were not presented to the district court but may choose to do so where the interests of justice so require. State v. Sorenson, 441 N.W.2d 455, 457 (Minn.1989). The court of appeals considered the equal protection claim in the interests of justice. Benniefield, 668 N.W.2d at 435. We do likewise.

Benniefield argues that Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4), "violates the equal protection component of the Minnesota Constitution because there is no genuine and substantial distinction between those who receive longer sentences for possession of a controlled substance in a school zone and those who possess the substance outside such a zone." Benniefield reinforces his argument by pointing out that the statute does not require that school children actually be present and does not distinguish between mere possession and the manufacture or sale of drugs in a school zone. Benniefield concludes, "[w]ithout some greater connection to the statute's purpose, such as children being present or a requirement tied to the time of day, the greater penalty for mere possession in the school zone does not relate to the purported goals to be achieved, that is protecting children."

Benniefield acknowledges that federal courts have determined that similar federal drug statutes that enhance drug crimes that occur within a school zone are constitutional. He argues that the Minnesota Constitution provides greater protection than the federal constitution when reviewing equal protection challenges and the federal enhancement statute is distinguishable because it requires the sale, distribution or manufacture of drugs within the school zone, not mere possession.

The state counters that drug activity in a school zone, even at times when children are not present, can have adverse consequences for children and thus the enhancement of the crime for possession in a school zone has a rational basis. The state suggests the example that if Benniefield had disposed of the drugs when he was first observed by the officer, the drugs could have later been found and used by children. The state concludes that the possible consequences of the presence of any kind of drug activity in a school zone provides "a rational basis for the legislature trying to deter possession or use of drugs in a school zone at any time of day."

When a statute does not involve a suspect classification or a fundamental right, this court reviews the constitutional challenge to the statute under a rational-basis test. Scott, 615 N.W.2d at 74. Benniefield does not claim that Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4), involves a suspect classification or a fundamental right. Thus, Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4), will be presumed to be constitutional and should be sustained "if the classification drawn by it is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest." Kolton v. County of Anoka, 645 N.W.2d 403, 411 (Minn.2002).

This court employs a three-pronged rational-basis test as follows:

(1) The distinctions which separate those included within the classification from those excluded must not be manifestly arbitrary or fanciful but must be genuine and substantial, thereby providing a natural and reasonable basis to justify legislation adapted to peculiar conditions and needs; (2) the classification must be genuine or relevant to the purpose of the law; that is there must be an evident connection between the distinctive needs peculiar to the class and the prescribed remedy; and (3) the purpose of the statute must be one that the state can legitimately attempt to achieve.

State v. Russell, 477 N.W.2d 886, 888 (Minn.1991).

Benniefield does not claim that the definition of a school zone is arbitrary or capricious, but that the imposition of a more severe sentence for third-degree possession, based solely on the location in a school zone and with no limitations as to the time of day or the actual presence of children, does not further the public safety goal of the legislature.² It is true that conviction of third-degree possession under Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 2(4), carries a significantly greater penalty than conviction of fifth-degree possession for possession of the same quantity of drugs outside a school zone. The maximum prison term for third-degree possession is 20 years and the presumptive sentence, with a criminal history score of 2, is 33 months. Minn.Stat. § 152.023, subd. 3; Minnesota Sentencing...