RULINGS MAY AFFECT COCAINE SENTENCES

GREENSBORO - Two recent N.C. Court of Appeals rulings reducing cocaine
possession from a felony to a misdemeanor could prompt waves of felons to
appeal their convictions and sentences, prosecutors and defense attorneys say.

The rulings, if upheld by the N.C. Supreme Court, would mean prosecutors
can't use prior cocaine-possession convictions to punish criminals as
habitual felons. The state Attorney General's Office said the decision
could affect tens of thousands of current and prior cases statewide.

"If the Supreme Court rules that way, we could have an avalanche of"
appeals, said Joel Oakley, president of the Greensboro Criminal Defense
Lawyers Association.

Though the exact number of affected cases in Guilford County was not known,
District Attorney Stuart Albright said the ruling, which was stayed by the
state Supreme Court, would be "pretty wide-sweeping."

The Court of Appeals on Tuesday overturned Corey Tyrone Sneed's conviction
as a habitual felon and a felon in possession of a firearm, and threw out
his sentence of about eight to 11 years in prison. Sneed, who is from
Wilmington, had three prior convictions for cocaine possession.

It was the second such ruling by the court this month, both of which stated
that possession of cocaine is in fact a misdemeanor, even though it is
punishable as a felony. That could mean that inmates convicted as habitual
felons based on past cocaine possession charges would have their sentences
reduced or overturned. At the request of prosecutors, the state Supreme
Court has stayed both rulings until it makes a decision.

"Cocaine has obviously been the scourge of our community for some time,"
said Stephen Cole, an assistant district attorney in Guilford County who
handles mostly drug-related cases. "The penalty as a felony is certainly a
more appropriate approach. I don't think changing it to a misdemeanor is
going to address any of our concerns about cocaine dealing, cocaine
possession or cocaine addiction."

Exact statistics on the number of annual cocaine possession convictions and
the number of habitual felons with prior possession convictions in Guilford
County were not immediately available. In the year ending June 30, 2003,
there were 1,333 controlled substance convictions in the county, according
to the administrative office of the courts.

A felony is defined by state law as any crime that is punishable by time in
state prison. But, a separate statute says possession of cocaine is a
misdemeanor that is "punishable" as a felony by up to five years in prison.

The unanimous opinion of the appeals court, written by Judge James Wynn,
said, "Since the General Assembly made this law, it is not within the
province of this Court to employ legal gymnastics to read the clear
language differently than what it states."

The Attorney General's Office argued in court papers filed with the state
Supreme Court that anything punished as a felony is in fact a felony. A
Supreme Court ruling is expected later this week.