Drug Crimes and Minors in Connecticut

Connecticut law attempts to shield children from drugs by imposing additional prison sentences on offenders who expose children to them. Offenses covered in this section impose terms of imprisonment in addition to any punishment received for the underlying drug offense. These additional terms of imprisonment are not suspendable by the court. Also, they must get served consecutively with any prison time imposed for the underlying offense.
There exist three separate criminal offenses contained within Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-278a. Each offense carries their own term of imprisonment for involving children with drug crimes.
(1) A person 18 years of age or older selling a controlled substance to another person under 18 years of age.
(2) Manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to sell a controlled substance within 1500 feet of a school.
(3) Employing a person under 18 years of age to sell or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Each offense gets discussed separately in the following sections.

Penalty for Illegal Manufacture, Distribution, Sale, Prescription or Administration. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-278a

The text of this sections reads as follows:

Penalty for illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription or administration – Conn. Gen. Stat. § 21a-278a

Section A

Any person eighteen years of age or older who violates section 21a-277 or 21a-278, and who is not, at the time of such action, a drug-dependent person, by distributing, selling, prescribing, dispensing, offering, giving or administering any controlled substance to another person who is under eighteen years of age and is at least two years younger than such person who is in violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278, shall be imprisoned for a term of two years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278.

Section B

Any person who violates section 21a-277 or 21a-278 by manufacturing, distributing, selling, prescribing, dispensing, compounding, transporting with the intent to sell or dispense, possessing with the intent to sell or dispense, offering, giving or administering to another person any controlled substance in or on, or within one thousand five hundred feet of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, a public housing project or a licensed child day care center, as defined in section 19a-77, identified as a child day care center by a sign posted in a conspicuous place faces imprisonment for a term of three years, which shall not get suspended and shall exist in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278.
Also, to constitute a violation of this subsection, an act of transporting or possessing a controlled substance exists with intent to sell or dispense in or on, or within one thousand five hundred feet of, the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school, a public housing project or a licensed child day care center, as defined in section 19a-77, identified as a child day care center by a sign posted in a conspicuous place. In addition, for the purposes of this subsection, “public housing project” means dwelling accommodations operated as a state or federally subsidized multifamily housing project by a housing authority, nonprofit corporation or municipal developer, as defined in section 8-39, pursuant to chapter 128 or by the Connecticut Housing Authority pursuant to chapter 129.

Section C

Any person who employs, hires, uses, persuades, induces, entices or coerces a person under eighteen years of age to violate section 21a-277 or 21a-278 shall be imprisoned for a term of three years, which shall not be suspended and shall be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for violation of section 21a-277 or 21a-278.

Employing Minor to Sell Controlled Substances – Elements

Element One:
The defendant employed, hired, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced.
Element Two:
That person was under 18 years old.
Element Three:
That person worked for the purposes of illegal manufacture, distribution, sale, prescription or administration. 

First Element

In order to establish that the defendant is guilty of employing a minor to sell a controlled substance, the state must prove things. They must prove that the defendant, “employed, hired, used, persuaded, induced, enticed or coerced” a person. “Employ” means, “‘to make use of the services of; to have or keep at work, to give employment to, to entrust with some duty or behest.’” Lutkevicz v. Brennan, 128 Conn. 651, 652 (1942); Perez v. Mount Sinai Hospital, 7 Conn. App. 514, 517, (1986); see also Black’s Law Dictionary (6th Ed.1990). “Hire” means, “to purchase the temporary use of a thing, or to arrange for the labor or services of another for a stipulated compensation.”
“Use” means, “to convert to one’s service; to employ, to avail oneself of, to utilize.” “Persuade” means, “to induce one by argument, entreaty, or expostulation into a determination, decision, conclusion, belief, or the like; to win over by an appeal to one’s reason and feelings, as into doing or believing something.” “Induce” means, “to bring on or about…an act or course of conduct.” “Entice” means, “to lure, induce, tempt, incite, or persuade a person to do a thing.” “Coerce” means “to compel to compliance…”

Second Element

The second element is that the defendant, “employed, hired, used, persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced” a person who was under eighteen years of age at the time of the alleged offense.

Third Element

The third element is that the defendant employed the person to sell or possess with intent to sell a controlled substance. The state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly hired the person to sell or possess with the intent to sell a controlled substance.
“Sell” means any form of delivery, which includes barter, exchange or gift, or offer therefore, and each such transaction made by any person whether as principal, proprietor, agent, servant or employee. “Possession” means either actual possession or constructive possession. Actual possession means actual physical possession, such as having the substance on one’s person. Constructive possession means having the substance in a place under one’s dominion and control. Possession also requires that the defendant knew that their employee was in possession of the controlled substance. That is, that they were aware that the employee was in possession of it and the defendant was aware of its nature.

Conviction

Conviction for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell requires proof of the defendant’s specific intent for his employee to sell the substance. A person acts “intentionally” with respect to a result when their conscious objective is to cause such result. A jury will be allowed to consider all of the surrounding circumstances in determining whether the defendant had the intent to sell.
A defendant convicted of employing a minor to possess with intent to distribute, is facing a minimum of three years in jail to run consecutively with any other penalties for the underlying offense.
SECTION CITED FROM: CT Criminal Jury Instructions 8.1-6