State v. Robinson

2011 UT 30, 254 P.3d 183, 684 Utah Adv. Rep. 34, 2011 Utah LEXIS 62, 2011 WL 2301500
Utah Supreme Court·Decided June 10, 2011·No. 20090015·Published·Cited by 29 cases

Opinion

On Certification from the Utah Court of Appeals

Justice NEHRING,

opinion of the Court:

INTRODUCTION

T1 Chance Robinson was charged with unlawful possession or use of a controlled substance based on the presence of methamphetamine in his bloodstream. The charge was grounded on provisions of the Utah Controlled Substances Act that make it unlawful for any person to "knowingly and intentionally" have "any measurable amount of a controlled substance in [his or her] body." 1 We are asked to determine whether this "measurable amount" provision violates the Utah or the United States Constitution. We hold *185 that it does not and affirm the decision of the district court.

BACKGROUND

2 On August 10, 2007, Mr. Robinson was stopped by Lehi City police officers on suspicion of driving without insurance. Because Mr. Robinson had difficulty speaking and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, one of the officers administered multiple sobriety tests. After Mr. Robinson failed the sobriety tests, he was arrested for driving under the influence.

T8 At the police station, Mr. Robinson admitted using heroin twelve hours earlier. He also submitted to breath, urine, and blood tests. The urinalysis tested positive for cocaine and benzodiazepine. The blood analysis tested positive for methamphetamine.

T4 Mr. Robinson was charged initially with various offenses not at issue in this appeal. 2 The State subsequently added a charge of possession or use of methamphetamine after Mr. Robinson's blood tested positive for methamphetamine. The charge was based on a provision of the Utah Controlled Substances Act that makes it unlawful for any person to "knowingly and intentionally" 3 have "any measurable amount of a controlled substance in [his or her] body." 4

15 At the preliminary hearing on the methamphetamine charge, Mr. Robinson argued that the "measurable amount" provision was an unconstitutional "status offense" under Robinson v. California. 5 The district court found probable cause to bind over as to the methamphetamine charge, but allowed Mr. Robinson to file a motion to quash the bindover based on his constitutional arguments. After both parties briefed and argued the constitutional issues, 6 the district court held that the measurable amount provision was not unconstitutional under Robinson and denied Mr. Robinson's motion to quash the bindover order for the methamphetamine charge.

T6 Mr. Robinson subsequently entered a conditional guilty plea to possession or use of methamphetamine and driving with a measurable amount of a controlled substance in his body. As part of the plea agreement, Mr. Robinson reserved the right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to quash the bindover order for the methamphetamine charge, 7 which he now exercises. On appeal, Mr. Robinson contends that Utah's measurable amount provision violates the Utah and United States Constitutions. We have jurisdiction pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-8-102(8)(b) (Supp.2010).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

T7 "Constitutional challenges to statutes present questions of law, which we re *186 view for correctness. 8

ANALYSIS

T8 The Utah Controlled Substances Act makes it unlawful "for any person knowingly and intentionally to possess or use a controlled substance" in Utah without a valid prescription. 9 "'Possession' or 'use'" includes "the application, inhalation, swallowing, injection, or consumption" of a controlled substance. 10 "Consumption" is defined, in turn, as "ingesting or having any measurable amount of a controlled substance in a person's body." 11 When read together, the "measurable amount" provision of the Act makes it unlawful for any person to "knowingly and intentionally" have "any measurable amount of a controlled substance in [his or her] body." 12

T9 Mr. Robinson contends that the measurable amount provision violates the due process and the uniform operation of laws clause of the Utah Constitution. Next, he argues that the measurable amount provision violates the constitutional principles set forth under the United States Supreme Court's decision in Robinson v. California. 13 For the reasons that follow, we hold that the measurable amount provision does not violate the Utah or the United States Constitution.' 14

I. THE MEASURABLE AMOUNT PROVISION OF THE UTAH CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT DOES NOT VIOLATE THE DUE PROCESS OR THE UNIFORM OPERATION OF LAWS CLAUSE OF THE UTAH CONSTITUTION

{10 Mr. Robinson contends that Utah's measurable amount provision violates the due process and the uniform operation of laws clause of the Utah Constitution. We disagree and address each argument in turn.

A. -The Measwrable Amount Provision Does Not Violate the Due Process Clause of the Utah Constitution

11 Article I, section 7 of the Utah Constitution states, "No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law." 15 Mr. Robinson contends that the measurable amount provision violates the due process clause because it exposes a person to eriminal liability for unintentional or involuntary conduct. This argument relies on Mr. Robinson's erroneous belief that a defendant can be convicted under the measurable amount provision based solely on the presence of a controlled substance in his body. For instance, Mr. Robinson argues that a defendant can be convicted even if a third party injects a controlled substance into the defendant's body while he is asleep or over his objection. Likewise, Mr. Robinson argues that a defendant would be subject to prosecution after unintentionally inhaling secondhand marijuana smoke from another person.

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State v. Robinson, 2011 UT 30, 254 P.3d 183, 684 Utah Adv. Rep. 34, 2011 Utah LEXIS 62, 2011 WL 2301500 (Utah 2011).

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