Question

Business statistics solutions manuals / Criminal Law for the Criminal Justice Professional / 4th edition/chapter 7 / problem 1pse

Judy was single and depressed because she had just broken up with her boyfriend. She went to a neighborhood bar with some friends so they could cheer her up. At the bar, she met Peter, a tall, good-looking, friendly guy. He said he was interested in “partying” with her. They went back to her place after she described it as being in a great building near a posh girls’ school. Judy had a small amount of cocaine in her apartment, and when she offered to share it with Peter, he arrested her. Peter was an undercover police officer. Judy had no prior arrests or convictions. It turns out her apartment was 800 feet from a private girls’ school. In Judy’s state, there is a mandatory minimum three-year sentence for any offender who sells illicit drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.

Answer the following questions: a. If you were the trial judge, would you nevertheless sentence Judy to less than three years? b. How could you explain your decision?

Answer 1

If I were the trial judge, I’ll sentence her for three years because cocaine is an illegal and second most used drug. She is also in the 1000 feet radius of the girl’s school. So, the chances are more that either she will be supplying cocaine to the girls in the school or she will be facilitating the sales. She will be able to identify the person or place from where she got the cocaine. I wouldn’t mind the way the police officer got connected, followed and arrested her as long as some illegal activity is prevented.