Pubdate: Fri, 02 May 2003 Source: Providence Journal, The (RI) Copyright: 2003 The Providence Journal Company Contact: http://www.projo.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/352 Author: Liz Anderson BILL OK'D ALLOWING LANDLORDS TO EVICT TENANTS WITH DRUGS The Measure Would Permit Eviction Without Notice to the Tenant. PROVIDENCE -- A landlord could seek to evict a tenant without notice if there were drugs found in the rental unit, under a bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. The provision would apply whether the tenant knew of the drugs' presence or not. In cases where a landlord must give a tenant notice of a problem under state law, the tenant has 20 days to fix the problem rather than face eviction proceedings. In cases where no notice is required, the landlord could go straight to court. Current law says a tenant cannot use the property for the manufacture, sale or delivery of drugs, possess drugs at the property for those purposes, or turn the property into a "narcotics nuisance" -- defined elsewhere as a place where drugs are sold or stored. The proposal, sponsored by the committee chairman, Sen. Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, changes the language to say a tenant or "authorized occupant" may not "have, keep, or allow" illegal drugs at the property. The law covers the presence of drugs "of any type or quantity" . . . "whether or not with knowledge by the tenant." It further says the arrest of a tenant "for criminal drug activity on the premises or on property adjacent to the premises" also is grounds for eviction without notice if the landlord proves by a "preponderance of the evidence" that the tenant was in possession of drugs at the time. "Preponderance of the evidence" is a term used in civil court to mean the circumstances are more likely to have happened than not happened; it is a weaker standard than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" required to prove a criminal case. The bill, which the committee approved unanimously on a 5-to-0 vote, is the fourth draft of the proposal, which was originally even broader in scope and has drawn strong criticism from advocates for tenants. It makes one other critical change to what constitutes grounds for eviction without notice, adding in acts of vandalism while removing a section that covers "crimes of violence," from murder to felony assault. McCaffrey, however, said that appeared to be a drafting error that could be remedied on the Senate floor; he said his intent was to include violent crimes and omit vandalism. Providence lawyer Paul Ragosta, one of a number of lawyers who represent landlords in housing cases, helped draft the bill. Ragosta said the state's 15-year-old housing act "really doesn't provide a proper remedy and a timely remedy and a meaningful remedy when there is drug activity in housing, particularly in low-income housing and public housing." Ragosta said he personally handled a case where there was evidence of marijuana use at an apartment, but a judge refused to evict the tenant because the judge interpreted the law to require more than one instance of drug activity. The lawyer called that "an absurd result," arguing a single drug offense should be grounds for eviction. He said the proposed state law mirrors existing federal law for public-housing complexes. Ragosta acknowledged the law could allow for the eviction of a tenant who was unaware a party guest brought over a single marijuana "joint." But he said the law must have a "balancing of interests." "The policy decision is that the drug problem is so severe that this sort of powerful tool is necessary," Ragosta said. He said tenants will just have to be vigilant about who is in their apartment. On the other hand, Noreen Shawcross, director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, said the current law already allows people to be evicted for serious drug problems or other major crimes. She said the McCaffrey bill was too broad and could increase the number of evictions. "I'm very disappointed they've chosen to go forward on it," she said, pledging to fight it on the floor. Shawcross and Robert Sabel, a lawyer for Rhode Island Legal Services, both argued the state's landlord/tenant act was crafted with all interested parties coming together to seek a balancing of interests, and should not be changed without a similar process. Sabel chafed at the bill's language that would allow a person to be evicted for "any drug activity, of any type, no matter how minor." He said federal law directs that a no-tolerance drug policy should be included in leases, but does not declare the tenant will have no opportunity to remedy the problem, which is what the state Senate bill proposes. In other action, the Judiciary Committee also passed, as expected, a proposal to include court magistrates -- a job that can carry a lifetime appointment and six-digit salary -- in the merit-selection system for judges. Right now, only magistrates and traffic court judges are exempt from the Judicial Nominating Commission screening process. The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Montalbano, D-North Providence, would apply to any new magistrates or any existing magistrates with limited appointments whose terms come up for renewal. A similar bill passed the Senate last year but died in the House. Larry Berman, a spokesman for new House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, said yesterday that House leaders had not reviewed the bill or taken a position on it yet. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake