Sentencing Reform Gains Momentum in Pennsylvania
Learn about the growing movement in support of reforming Pennsylvania's "drug free school zone" sentencing guidelines.

August 24, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Sentencing Reform Gains Momentum in Pennsylvania

In its 2009 Annual Report, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing made several recommendations regarding mandatory minimum sentencing. Specifically, it asked the General Assembly and the Criminal Procedural Rules Committee to consider repealing Drug Free School Zone legislation, which the Commission found to be irregularly applied and geographically improper. It also recommended that the Assembly reconsider its use of current guidelines that call for sentencing enhancement based on crimes against youths.

Inspiration for Drug Free School Laws

Mandatory minimum sentencing is a powerful weapon that prosecutors view as an effective deterrent to crime. Drug trafficking and sales completed within school zones call for a two-year minimum sentence. The law applies to any amount of illegal drug, and there is no required link between drug deals and the school zone, which extends 1,000 feet from the edge of school property. If a district attorney decides to invoke a minimum penalty, the court must follow the mandatory sentencing protocols.

However, a growing number of lawmakers favor the abolishment of such sentences. First, they believe that the law does not adequately address the problem of selling drugs to minors. Drug free zones were initially conceived to protect children from potential violence emanating from drug trafficking. Disputes over drugs sales once commonly erupted into violence that harmed innocent children. Also, legislators wanted to shield children from the temptation of being part of the drug trade.

The Need for Repeal

The prospect of protecting children served as a compelling reason to enact strict, mandatory penalties. However, they are commonly misapplied in practice.

Consider a transaction where one person sells a small amount of marijuana to another person in an apartment that happens to be located in a drug free school zone. A drug distribution conviction in this scenario would result in a mandatory two year prison sentence (as the law applies to any amount of illegal drugs). The seller could be someone with no prior record, a student, or could hold a steady job. Mandatory sentences fail to consider the unique circumstances of individual cases. Additionally, when offenders suffer from addiction, critics believe that prison terms are ineffective compared to the benefits offered by drug treatment or diversion programs.

Problematically, drug-free school zones encompass large swaths of metropolitan areas, so the laws disproportionately affect minorities by subjecting them to harsher sentences merely because of where they live. Urban areas tend to have overlapping drug free zones, since schools and homes are commonly located more closely together in high density environments. Meanwhile, white offenders who sell drugs in suburban areas, are not punished as severely, even though drug sales are equally prevalent in suburbia. Drug free areas comprise only a small part of the suburbs or rural towns, since buildings are further apart.

Proponents of sentencing reform point to existing laws that mandate a one-year sentence for the sale of drugs to a minor. If it is determined that an offender actually sold drugs to a minor, or engaged a minor to promote the sale of drugs, an additional two-year mandatory sentence may be invoked. Under statute, courts do not have the authority to impose probation or offer stayed sentences in these situations.

Pennsylvania's rising prison population further complicates the issue. Legislators must consider how sentencing of first-time, non-violent offenders will affect local and state level jails. Lawmakers last considered sentencing reform when debating Senate Bill 1299, which would have allowed courts to impose different sentencing options in lieu of jail time, but the bill stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Next Steps

Presently, prosecutorial discretion is a critical issue that must be addressed before the legislature approves sentencing reforms. According to the Commission's annual report, only 26 percent of those eligible for mandatory sentences in drug free school zone cases actually receive them. This is a stark departure compared to cases involving gun crimes (where 63 percent receive mandatory minimums) and repeat violent offenders (39 percent).

If you have been charged with, or are under investigation for, a drug crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence, it is critical to understand your rights and options. An experienced criminal defense attorney can advise you.

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