What is the Drug-Free Zone Around Virginia Public Schools?

The drug-free zone around Virginia public schools is the same drug-free zone that applies to daycare centers, school buses/stops, public recreation facilities, community centers, and other protected places. The drug-free zone is usually 1,000 feet around the protected place. In many states, a drug offense in a protected place is an enhancement. But in Virginia, Section 18.2-255.2 is a separate and distinct felony.

Proving this felony is a two-step process. First, the state must establish the drug crime (possession, trafficking, etc.) beyond any reasonable doubt. Next, prosecutors must establish, again beyond any reasonable doubt, that the offense occurred in a drug-free zone. This two-step process gives a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer two opportunities to beat these charges in court. Court appearances are often unnecessary. If prosecutors believe a defense exists and a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer can leverage that defense in court, prosecutors normally back down.

Drug Possession in Loudoun County

As mentioned, the drug-free felony applies to all drug crimes. However, since simple possession accounts for almost 90 percent of drug crime arrests, we’ll focus on this offense. These charges do not hold up in court unless the state establishes all three elements of drug possession, which are:

• Produce the Substance in Court: Drugs and other physical evidence are inadmissible in court unless officers had a valid search warrant or a search warrant exception, such as owner consent, applied to the search and seizure. Warrants must be based on probable cause and the law narrowly defines consent and other search warrant exceptions.
• Prove the Substance was Illegal: Unscientific “field tests” do not conclusively establish the nature of a substance. Only chemical tests do that. Test errors are common, especially since most police technicians have little or no training in this area. Furthermore, an illegal substance could be so heavily diluted with another substance that the “drug” wasn’t illegal.
• Establish Criminal Possession: In criminal court, possession has three parts. First, the state must establish close proximity. Second, the state must establish actual knowledge and exclusive control, two concepts that are closely related. The latter two elements are very difficult to prove in many vehicle possession cases.

Public opinion is on the side of a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer. Many jurors believe drugs are a health and safety issue, not a criminal law issue. Therefore, in borderline cases, they usually side with drug crime defendants.

Drug-Free School Zones in Virginia

A drug-free school zone includes the building as well as the school grounds. Also, as mentioned, the zone extends 1,000 feet in any direction. That law appears straightforward, but it has some serious issues.

If children aren’t present, the need to make a school a drug-free zone arguably disappears. There’s no one to protect.

Additionally, the 1,000 feet provision raises serious concerns about social equity. 1,000 feet is the equivalent of about three football fields. Schools and the other aforementioned protected places are so densely packed together in Northern Virginia that almost every street corner in Loudoun County is technically inside a drug-free zone.

Because of the public attitude about drug crimes, many prosecutors find it difficult to defend broad drug-free zone laws. They’d rather settle the case quietly than risk putting the law on trial.

Connect With a Tough-Minded Loudoun County Lawyer

There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. We are fully committed to the complete defense of individual rights.

Source:

law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter7/section18.2-255.2/