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HARK & HARK
New Jersey Criminal Lawyer
1101 Marlton Pike West
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
(866) 427-5529
Practicing in all NJ Counties
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New Jersey Drug Charges
Revised 4/20/98
EMPLOYING A JUVENILE IN A DRUG
DISTRIBUTION SCHEME
N.J.S.A.
2C:35-6
The
defendant(s) is (are) charged in count of the
indictment with the crime of employing a juvenile in a drug
distribution scheme. (HERE READ PERTINENT COUNT OF INDICTMENT)
That section of our
statutes provides in pertinent part that:
Any person being at least 18 years of
age who knowingly uses, solicits, directs, hires or employs a person
17 years of age or younger to violate the maintaining or operating a
drug production facility statute [N.J.S.A. 2C:35-4]
or the manufacturing, distributing or dispensing a controlled
dangerous substance statute [N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5a]
is guilty of a crime.
In order for you to find
the defendant guilty of this offense, the State must prove each of
the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1). That the defendant
was at least 18 years of age;
2). That the defendant
used, solicited, directed, hired or employed a juvenile to commit or
aid in the commission of the crime;
3). That the defendant
acted knowingly; and
4). That the person
used, solicited, directed or employed was in fact 17 years of age or
younger.
The first element the
State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant was at
least 18 years old at the time he/she engaged in the conduct alleged
in the indictment.
The second element that
the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the defendant
used, solicited, directed, hired or employed (name of juvenile) to
commit or aid in the commission of the crime described in count
of the indictment. (Read pertinent part of N.J.S.A.
2C:35-4 or N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5a allegedly committed).
The mere fact that a juvenile and an adult are involved in a
transaction is insufficient to convict; rather, the State must prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant controlled the
juvenile.
The third element that
the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant
acted knowingly. A person acts knowingly with respect to the nature
of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if he/she is aware
that his/her conduct is of that nature or that such circumstances
exist or he/she is aware of a high probability of their existence.
A person acts knowingly with respect to a result of his/her conduct
if he/she is aware that it is practically certain that his/her
conduct will cause such a result. Since knowingly is a state of
mind and cannot be seen and can only rarely be determined by
inference from conduct, words or acts, it is rarely susceptible of
direct proof. Therefore, it is not necessary that witnesses be
produced by the State to testify that a defendant said that he/she
knowingly did something. His/her knowledge may be gathered from
his/her acts and his/her conduct and from all he/she said and did at
the particular time and place and from all the surrounding
circumstances reflected in the testimony [and evidence adduced at
trial].
The fourth element that
the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the person
used, solicited, directed, hired or employed was in fact 17 years of
age or younger at the time. It is no defense to a prosecution under
this statute that the defendant mistakenly believed that the person
whom he used, solicited, directed, hired or employed was 18 years of
age or older even if that mistaken belief was reasonable.
If you find that the State has
proven beyond a reasonable doubt each of the four elements, that is,
that defendant was at least 18 years old, that he/she used,
solicited, directed, hired or employed (name of juvenile), that the
(name of juvenile) used, solicited, directed, hired or employed was
17 years old or younger and that defendant acted knowingly, then you
must convict him/her of employing a juvenile in a drug distribution
scheme. If the State has failed to prove any of these elements
beyond a reasonable doubt, then you must find defendant not guilty.
N.J.S.A. 2C:35-4
provides that any person who knowingly maintains or operates
any premises, place or facility used for the manufacture of
methamphetamine, LSD, phencyclidine or any substance
classified as a narcotic drug in Schedule I or II or the
analog of such a substance or knowingly aids, promotes,
finances or otherwise participates in the maintenance or
operation of such premises, place or facility is guilty of a
crime.
N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5a
provides that it is unlawful for any person knowingly or
purposely to manufacture, distribute or dispense or to
possess or have under his/her control with intent to
manufacture, distribute or dispense, a controlled dangerous
substance or analog or to create, distribute or possess or
have under his/her control with intent to distribute a
counterfeit controlled dangerous substance.
If the court already has
charged these substantive offenses, then remind the jury of
those definitions.
State v. Laws,
262 N.J. Super. 551, 561 (App. Div. 1993), certif.
denied 134 N.J. 475 (1993).
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