Johnson v. State
Supreme Court of Florida
602 So. 2d 1288 (Fla. 1992)
Johnson (defendant) used cocaine during two pregnancies, including the day before and morning of each birth; Florida charged her under a statute criminalizing delivery of a controlled substance to a minor, theorizing "delivery" occurred as cocaine passed through the umbilical cord during the 60 to 90 seconds between birth and cutting the cord. She was convicted on both counts, and the appellate court certified to the Florida Supreme Court the question whether a mother's drug ingestion, knowing it would pass to her child after birth, violated the statute.
Whether a statute criminalizing the delivery of drugs applies to the transmission of drugs from a mother's umbilical cord to her newborn child.