Opinion ID: 1058523
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Briscoe v. Commonwealth

Text: Police officers with the City of Alexandria Police Department executed a search warrant for the apartment of Mark A. Briscoe. During the search, the officers seized suspected cocaine scattered about in the apartment's kitchen area, as well as two scales, a razor blade, a 100-gram weight, a box of plastic sandwich bags, and a plate. Many of these items appeared to have deposits of drug residue on them. In a search of Briscoe's person, the police seized a white, rocklike substance wrapped in plastic from the pocket of his shorts. The police submitted the items of suspected cocaine to the Department of Criminal Justice Services, Division of Forensic Science, for testing. In two certificates of analysis, a forensic analyst reported that the confiscated substances were solid material cocaine totaling 36.578 grams. The certificates also contained the analyst's signature and attestation that she performed the analyses and that the certificates accurately reflected the results of those analyses. Briscoe was indicted in the Circuit Court of, the City of Alexandria for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of Code § 18.2-248(C), unlawful transportation of cocaine into the Commonwealth with the intent to distribute, in violation of Code § 18.2-248.01, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, in violation of Code §§ 18.2-248 and 18.2-256. During a bench trial, the Commonwealth sought to admit into evidence the two certificates of analysis. Briscoe objected, arguing that their admission, without the forensic analyst present to testify, violated his confrontation rights under the Sixth Amendment. Relying on the decision in Crawford, Briscoe asserted that the certificates were testimonial because they contained solemn declarations or affirmations that the Commonwealth sought to use in order to establish an element of the charged offenses. Briscoe also claimed that the procedure provided in Code § 19.2-187.1 permitting a defendant to call a forensic analyst as an adverse witness does not protect his confrontation rights and actually imposes an unconstitutional affirmative step that he must take in order to assert his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation. The circuit court overruled Briscoe's objection, holding that the procedure in Code § 19.2-187.1 preserved his right to cross-examine the forensic analyst. In response to the circuit court's ruling, Briscoe further argued that the statutory right to call the forensic analyst as an adverse witness does not satisfy his constitutional right to confront the Commonwealth's witness and also impermissibly shifts the burden to produce evidence to a criminal defendant. The circuit court did not change its ruling. Briscoe did not call the forensic analyst to testify and presented no evidence. The circuit court convicted Briscoe of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and transportation of cocaine into the Commonwealth with the intent to distribute. The court sentenced Briscoe to a total of 20 years of incarceration, with all but 5 years and 8 months suspended. The Court of Appeals denied Briscoe's appeal in an unpublished per curiam order. Briscoe v. Commonwealth, Record No. 1478-06-4 (January 18, 2007). Assuming, without deciding, that the certificates of analysis constituted testimonial evidence under Crawford, the Court of Appeals held that Briscoe's right to confront the forensic analyst was protected by the procedure provided in Code § 19,2-187.1. Id., slip op. at 2 (citing Brooks, 49 Va.App. at 161, 638 S.E.2d at 134). The court further held that, by failing to follow that statutory procedure, Briscoe waived his constitutional right to confront the forensic analyst who prepared the certificates. Id. Briscoe sought review of the Court of Appeals per curiam order, and a three judge panel denied that petition for appeal for the reasons stated in the January 18, 2007 order. Briscoe v. Commonwealth, Record No. 1478-06-4 (March 26, 2007). On appeal to this Court, Briscoe raises this assignment of error with regard to the certificates of analysis: [3] I. The Court of Appeals erred in upholding the trial court's finding that Defendant's constitutional right to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses was not violated by the admission of the certificates of drug analysis into evidence.