STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
PATRICIA MARIE RYAN, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court denied the state's petition for certiorari in a cocaine trafficking case, adopting the trial court's reasoning that under Florida's trafficking statute, the prosecution must prove the defendant's knowledge that the specific drug was cocaine, not merely knowledge of trafficking in controlled substances generally. The court rejected the state's argument that proof of intent to traffic in marijuana could satisfy the elements of a cocaine trafficking charge.
The court held that the prosecution must prove the defendant's knowledge that the specific drug was cocaine, not merely knowledge of trafficking in controlled substances generally. Intent and knowledge regarding the specific drug charged are required elements of the offense under § 893.135(1)(b), and the defendant's intent to traffic in a different drug cannot support a conviction for trafficking in the drug actually possessed.
[1] To prove trafficking in a specific controlled substance under Florida Statutes § 893.135(1)(b), the State must prove the defendant knowingly possessed or trafficked in th…
[2] The trafficking statute requires proof of knowledge of the specific controlled substance, not merely knowledge of trafficking in controlled substances generally.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Obviously, intent and knowledge are elements that the State must prove and the absence of which can be a defense.”
Establishes that the 'knowingly' requirement in the trafficking statute mandates proof of both intent and knowledge as essential elements
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePatricia Marie Ryan was charged with trafficking in cocaine (400 grams or more) under Florida Statute § 893.135(1)(b). Evidence indicated that the def…
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PER CURIAM.
We deny the state’s petition for writ of certiorari and adopt the following well-reasoned opinion of the trial court:
Defendant is charged by an information which alleges that she did “knowingly sell, deliver, or bring into this State, or was knowingly in actual or constructive possession of 400 grams or more of cocaine.”
Section 893.135(l)(b), Florida Statutes, provides that “any person who knowingly sells.delivers, or brings into this State, or who is knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, 28 grams or more of cocaine” is guilty of trafficking in cocaine.
The Motion in Limine seeks a ruling that the State need not prove Defendant’s intention to or knowledge that she was trafficking in cocaine and that lack of such intention or knowledge may not be a defense. The problem arises from the fact that the evidence will tend to show that her intentions were to traffic in marijuana and her belief was that the contraband would be marijuana instead of cocaine.
If this were a case of simple delivery or possession of a controlled substance under § 893.13, State v. Medlin, 273 So. 2d 394 (Fla.1973) would apply and the State would not be required to prove intent or knowledge although absence of either would appear to be a defense for the jury to consider. This ruling comes from the absence in the statute of the requirement of a specific intent or guilty knowledge. The trafficking statute, however, uses the word “knowingly” twice and the information here uses it twice in tracking the statute. Obviously, intent and knowledge are elements that the State must prove and the absence of which can be a defense.
The State, however, contends that the only intent and knowledge required are to traffic in controlled substances and that the specific contraband is immaterial except to set the punishment. Again, if § 893.13 were involved, that argument could better be made because the offense is described in each subsection as being in the actual or constructive possession, etc. of “a controlled substance.” Section 893.135, however, has five subsections each of which names a specific drug which must be possessed, etc., to constitute the offense.
Had the Legislature intended for there to be just one crime with varying penalties according to the drug involved, it could easily have followed the format of § 893.-13. Instead the Legislature chose to create five different offenses, giving each a separate name, e.g. “trafficking in cannabis” or “trafficking in cocaine,” and in addition required that the offense be done “knowingly.”
Because the penalties for trafficking are much more severe than for simple possession or delivery, it is reasonable to assume that the lawmakers wanted to limit the crime to those persons who consciously violate the law. To say that an intent and knowledge to commit trafficking in marijuana will suffice to prove trafficking in cocaine also flies in the face of the fact that a person may believe that marijuana is harmless and no moral wrong is committed in dealing with it although the same person may not be willing to deal in cocaine or morphine or opium or phencyclidine or methaqualone because of a moral belief that these drugs are harmful.
Under § 893.13, which, as has been discussed, does not have a knowledge requirement, the Third District has ruled that a charge of sale of heroin could not be proved by the evidence of a sale of morphine. Jimenez v. State, 231 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970). Under § 893.-135(l)(b) which does have a knowledge requirement, it would follow that proof of trafficking in cocaine would not support a charge of trafficking in marijuana or vice versa. If the drug must be the one charged it would seem reasonable that the intent must be the one charged as well.
PETITION DENIED.
DOWNEY, ANSTEAD and HURLEY, JJ., concur.
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Cited By (11 total)
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Kresbach v. State, 462 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…ellant “knowingly” sold, or was “knowingly in actual or constructive possession of, 28 grams or more of cocaine”. Use of the work “knowingly” in the trafficking statute required the state to prove the elements of intent and knowledge. State v. Ryan, 413 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982). The only evidence possibly relating to an intent to sell cocaine consisted of the payments made by Caldwell to appellant. The state, however, never proved what those payments were for, and a trier of fact could have reasonably…
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WAY v. State, 475 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 1985)….135(l)(b)? 458 So. 2d at 882. We have jurisdiction, article V, section 3(b)(4), Florida Constitution, and we answer the question in the negative. We reject petitioner’s assertion that the Fourth District Court of Appeal decision in State v. Ryan, 413 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA), review denied, 421 So. 2d 518 (Fla.1982), mandates that the state prove knowledge of the quantity of cocaine possessed. In Ryan, which involved a cocaine-trafficking prosecution under this same statute, the court held that the state…
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Green v. State, 602 So. 2d 1306 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)…893.135(l)(b)l.a thus makes guilty knowledge of the actual substance an element of the crime. State v. Dominguez, 509 So. 2d 917 (Fla.1987); Rubiano v. State, 528 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 4th DCA), cause dismissed, 534 So. 2d 401 (Fla.1988); State v. Ryan, 413 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 421 So. 2d 518 (Fla.1982). In State v. Medlin, 273 So. 2d 394 (Fla.1973), the court explained the different burdens placed on the state in proving a prima facie case of violation of a criminal statute when there is a qu…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Medlin, 273 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 1973)
- Jiminez v. State, 231 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 3d DCA 1970)