Cooper v. Commonwealth

648 S.W.2d 530, 1982 Ky. App. LEXIS 287
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 5, 1982
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 648 S.W.2d 530 (Cooper v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cooper v. Commonwealth, 648 S.W.2d 530, 1982 Ky. App. LEXIS 287 (Ky. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinions

WILHOIT, Judge.

Charles Cooper appeals from his conviction of the offense of promoting contraband in the first degree, a Class D felony, for which he received a sentence of one year.

While the appellant was an inmate at the Kentucky State Reformatory, he was found to be in possession of a “brown powdery substance,” which upon analysis by the state police laboratory proved to be marijuana. The evidence indicated that the quantity of marijuana found in his possession was sufficient to make two to four “joints” and that it had a value of approximately $10.00 for sale to other inmates within the institution. The appellant contends that as a matter of law he could only have been guilty of promoting contraband in the second degree, a Class A misdemean- or, rather than the felony for which he was convicted.

KRS 520.050(l)(b) defines the felony of promoting contraband in the first degree to include possession of “dangerous contraband” by a person confined in a detention facility. KRS 520.060(l)(b) defines the misdemeanor of promoting contraband in the second degree to include possession of “contraband” by a person confined in a detention facility. The distinction between “dangerous contraband” and “contraband” is found in KRS 520.010 which defines the former at subsection (3) to be “contraband which is capable of such use as may endanger the safety or security of a detention facility or persons therein [,]” and the latter at subsection (1) to be “any article or thing which a person confined in a detention fa[531]*531cility is prohibited from obtaining or possessing by statute, departmental regulation, or posted institutional rule or order.”

The evidence presented at trial established that the Bureau of Corrections by policy treated all marijuana as dangerous contraband and that all inmates are advised of this policy when first admitted to the reformatory. The relevant written policy of the Bureau is found in its “Internal Management Directive” at sections 307.01 to 307.06. A copy of these sections of the directive was filed in the evidence as an exhibit. The definitions of “dangerous contraband” and “contraband” contained therein are identical to their respective statutory definitions. Acknowledging the difficulty of specifically enumerating “all items which would be considered as contraband or dangerous contraband[,]” the directive goes on to furnish specific examples of each. Section 307.04 cites as examples of “dangerous contraband” firearms, weapons, explosives, ammunition, and “any narcotics or dangerous drugs as defined in the Kentucky Revised Statutes and Bureau for Health Services Regulations for Narcotics, Dangerous Drugs or Controlled Substances[.]” Section 307.05 cites as examples of “contraband” “unauthorized money or clothing, disguises or masks, any intoxicating substance, é.g., beer, alcohol, paint thinner, cleaning fluid, etc.[,]” and “any controlled substance not considered a dangerous drug or narcotic by either statute or Bureau for Health Services Regulations for Narcotics, Dangerous Drugs or Controlled Substances.” The appellant points out that marijuana is not defined as a narcotic drug by the Controlled Substances Act (KRS Ch. 218A), and we note that KRS 217.725 which defined “dangerous drugs” was repealed in 1972. 1972 Ky.Acts ch. 226, § 33. Marijuana is, however, listed as a Schedule I controlled substance in KRS 218A.050(3) although its possession by one for his own use is only a misdemeanor. KRS 218A.990(7).

It is apparent from the statute defining dangerous contraband and contraband that the Bureau of Corrections is free to designate through appropriate regulation, rule, or order what will constitute “contraband” for purposes of KRS 520.060, while it is given no such freedom as to what constitutes “dangerous contraband” for the purposes of KRS 520.050. Therefore, we must look to the statutory definition itself to determine what is “dangerous contraband,” with the commentary to the statute as an aid in construction. Cooper v. Commonwealth, Ky., 550 S.W.2d 478 (1977).

The definition of “dangerous contraband” requires first that the article or substance in question be “contraband.” As stated previously, contraband includes any article which a person confined in a detention facility is prohibited by statute from possessing. KRS 218A.140 et seq. plainly prohibited the possession of marijuana by the appellant; thus, the marijuana was contraband. It must then be determined if it was contraband capable of such use as may endanger the safety or security of the reformatory or persons therein. The commentary to KRS 520.010 states as follows:

Subsection (3) distinguishes dangerous contraband as being inherently dangerous items which may impair the safety or security of the facility or persons there. The definition includes but is not limited to deadly weapons and dangerous instruments (defined in KRS 500.080). It is not necessary for the actor to be aware of the item’s legal classification but only to know the physical nature of the article and its potential danger. Weapons, tools, expIosives[,] etc., are examples of such contraband, as they are likely to facilitate escape or to cause disorder, damage or physical injury.

This same commentary also states:

Subsection (1) defines contraband as something that an inmate is forbidden to obtain or possess .... An alcoholic beverage is an example of contraband.

Evidence was given by a deputy warden of the reformatory that marijuana endangers the security of a penal institution because it can readily be sold to inmates and sexual favors are sometimes used to pay debts incurred from such sales and that assaults among inmates have resulted from [532]*532failure to pay debts stemming from its sale on credit. This witness admitted, however, that debts were incurred among inmates in the sale of tobacco and other items, as well as from gambling, and that these debts also caused disorders.

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Related

Commonwealth v. O'Hara
793 S.W.2d 840 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1990)
Koonce v. Commonwealth
769 S.W.2d 73 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1989)
Commonwealth v. Simmons
753 S.W.2d 872 (Court of Appeals of Kentucky, 1988)

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Bluebook (online)
648 S.W.2d 530, 1982 Ky. App. LEXIS 287, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cooper-v-commonwealth-kyctapp-1982.