(Download) "People v. Mccarty" by Supreme Court of Illinois ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: People v. Mccarty
- Author : Supreme Court of Illinois
- Release Date : January 30, 1981
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 67 KB
Description
The defendant, Danny Joe McCarty, was indicted by the grand jury of Sangamon County for the unlawful delivery of less than 30 grams of a substance containing cocaine in violation of section 401(b) of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1979, ch. 56 1/2, par. 1401(b)). Prior to trial he filed a motion to dismiss the indictment alleging that the classification of cocaine as a Schedule II narcotic drug under section 401(b) of the Act was unconstitutional. The motion was denied. A jury found the defendant guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced him to 3 years' imprisonment. On appeal, the appellate court found that because cocaine is neither pharmacologically nor scientifically a narcotic, its classification as such under the Act denied defendant his constitutional right to equal protection under the law. As a result the court reduced the conviction from a Class 2 felony to a Class 3 felony and remanded the cause to the trial court for resentencing. (93 Ill. App.3d 898.) The State appeals under Supreme Court Rule 317 (73 Ill.2d R. 317). The State contends that there is a rational basis for the present classification of cocaine as a narcotic drug. The defendant does not generally challenge the inclusion of cocaine in Schedule II of the Act, but, rather, claims that its designation as a narcotic therein is capricious, arbitrary and without a rational basis, thereby denying him of his right to equal protection.