Court: Drugs in your system doesn’t count as possession
When Kelly Foreman's baby boy tested positive for cocaine after delivery, she got convicted of felony drug possession in Ohio's Seneca County.
The Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out the conviction, saying the presence of cocaine in her system at the time she gave birth wasn't sufficient to bring drug possession charges.
The ACLU of Ohio, which filed an amicus brief in Foreman's favor in the case, said the ruling has broad application.
The Supreme Court decided once someone takes a drug and it's inside their body, they don't have control over it so they don't ‘possess' it.
“That ruling is not limited to pregnant women and newborns, it would apply to anyone,” said ACLU of Ohio attorney David Carey.
Foreman, of the village of Green Spring, admitted she used cocaine six to 12 times during her pregnancy but challenged her conviction on the basis that the state failed to prove “venue” because there was no evidence that she possessed the drug in Seneca County.
Venue is key. Under the Ohio Constitution, the accused has a right to a speedy trial by an impartial jury “of the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed.” Evidence of proper venue is required to sustain a conviction, the high court found.
The prosecution argued that the positive drug test, Foreman's residency in Seneca County during pregnancy and her admission of drug use established that Seneca County was the proper venue.
The defense countered that a person can't possess a controlled substance once it has been assimilated into that person's body.
The ACLU of Ohio argued in its brief that charging someone with drug possession because of the mere presence of drugs within their systems amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. Such charges would have a chilling effect on individuals who may be seeking medical care.
Hospitals often screen newborns that show symptoms of drug withdrawal. That's what happened in Foreman's case.
Carey said the ACLU of Ohio is pleased with the ruling.
“If the prosecution had its way, a person could be found to ‘possess' a drug merely by having it in their system, regardless of where, when, and under what circumstances the drug was actually ingested,” Carey said.
“If that was the law, a person could take a substance in a place where it is legal to do so, and could later be arrested in any county in Ohio simply for being there, for as long as the substance or its byproducts existed in their system. The court rightly saw that as an absurd result.”
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations
across Ohio.