Pubdate: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 Source: News & Observer (NC) Copyright: 2004 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: http://www.news-observer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Emily Almas Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COURT SETTLES COCAINE DISPUTE Drug Possession Declared A Felony RALEIGH -- The state Supreme Court ruled Friday that possession of cocaine is a felony, overturning a controversial appeals court decision that possession of the drug was a misdemeanor under state law. At the heart of the matter was confusion over whether a 1979 law outlines cocaine possession charges as misdemeanors or felonies. Supreme Court Justice Ed Brady wrote in the ruling that the General Assembly considered cocaine possession a felony charge and as such can be considered when determining habitual felon status. North Carolina law establishes sentencing guidelines for defendants who have been convicted of more than three felonies and are considered habitual felons. Attorney General Roy Cooper had appealed the Court of Appeals' decision, which overturned the sentencing and habitual felon convictions of Norman Wayne Jones and Corey Tyrone Sneed-El. "I'm pleased that the North Carolina Supreme Court recognizes that possession of cocaine should remain a felony," Cooper said in a prepared statement. "This ruling is critical to our fight against drugs and crime because it allows for longer sentences and gives prosecutors the opportunity to use cocaine possession charges to keep habitual felons off the street." When the Court of Appeals' justices unanimously agreed in November that the General Assembly considered cocaine possession a misdemeanor, it held that Jones and Sneed-El should not be considered habitual felons and would have to be resentenced. Jones pleaded guilty in 2002 to possession of cocaine with intent to sell and deliver and was sentenced as a habitual felon because he had three previous felony convictions. Jones appealed his prison sentence, which was based on his habitual felon status, on the grounds that the state legislation identified cocaine possession as a misdemeanor offense. Sneed-El, who had been previously convicted of three cocaine possession charges, was arrested during a traffic stop for possession of a firearm as a felon. He was then convicted as a habitual felon for the firearms charge and was sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison. Daniel Shatz, a Durham lawyer who represented Sneed-El, maintains that state legislation outlines cocaine as a misdemeanor and as such, his client should never have been convicted of the felony firearm possession charge or sentenced as a habitual felon. "It really needs some overhauling," Shatz said, adding that he and his client were disappointed with the ruling. "What you get is essentially a lot of people who are drug addicts or have substance abuse problems who are being warehoused in the prison system instead of getting treatment." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin