Opinion ID: 2809833
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Return to the Supreme Court Following Remand

Text: Before Brown filed his supplemental opening brief, the State provided him with the results from its re-testing of the substance seized from him after his arrest. The Superior Court had ordered the evidence to be re-tested in deciding on a motion for a new trial filed by Galen Brooks, who was tried separately. The results from that test, conducted by the independent NMS Labs, confirmed that the substance was in fact cocaine.27 Although the NMS report does not delineate between powder and crack cocaine, it does provide that the total weight of the drugs was 22.08 grams, which is similar to the amount reported by the officers after Brown‟s arrest and by OCME, and is over 20 grams, the minimum required for a Tier 4 offense.28 The NMS report was also consistent with Brown‟s own admission that he had an ounce of cocaine. The re-testing results were not the only addition to the record following remand. After Brown filed his supplemental opening brief and the State responded, the State disclosed that Patricia Phillips, the OCME forensic examiner who tested the drugs seized from Brown and then testified at Brown‟s trial, had been suspended from the Division of Forensic Science (the successor to OCME) and later resigned. The State‟s documentation explained that there were three incidents leading to Phillips‟ suspension and resignation: she reportedly “lost” a bag of heroin in her lab coat pocket; she took 27 App. to Supp. Answering Br. at 9 (NMS Labs Final Report). 28 The amounts of cocaine reported by NMS in the five bags were: 6.83 grams, 6.60 grams, 2.15 grams, 6.05 grams, and 0.45 grams. See id. 10 evidence with her into the bathroom, a violation of protocol; and discrepancies were found in another case between the evidence found in her locker and her description of the evidence as logged in.29 Brown argued that this additional evidence of misconduct by an OCME employee raised “a definite probability of adulteration or tampering,” requiring reversal of his convictions.30