Opinion ID: 1740433
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Results of March 2003 Drug Tests

Text: During the BNSF investigative hearing, Jackson said that drug tests conducted at his own expense prove[d] that there were no illegal drugs in [his] system before the day in question, during, or after. He submitted documents purporting to show that in March 2003, samples of Jackson's hair were tested by two laboratories for the presence of certain drugs within a 90-day time period. Negative results were shown. At trial, these documents were included in exhibit 17, and Jackson's testimony about the drug tests was contained in exhibit 18. It goes without saying that to be admissible, testimony and exhibits concerning the results of drug tests must have sufficient foundation. In Priest v. McConnell, 219 Neb. 328, 363 N.W.2d 173 (1985), we found that insufficient foundation had been laid for testimony regarding the testing of the decedent's blood and urine for alcohol when there was no evidence as to the origin of the urine sample and, at best, the chain of custody concerning the blood sample was equivocal. In Raskey v. Hulewicz, 185 Neb. 608, 177 N.W.2d 744 (1970), the trial court refused to admit evidence as to the result of a urine test due to lack of foundation. Affirming this ruling, this court held that the authenticity of the urine sample must be unequivocally established before its admission into evidence. In Houghton v. Houghton, 179 Neb. 275, 137 N.W.2d 861 (1965), the results of blood tests conducted to establish paternity were admitted because they were supported by testimony of the doctor who supervised the tests. In the present case, the purported results of the March 2003 forensic hair analyses and Jackson's testimony concerning them were incorporated in exhibits 17 and 18, which were admitted into evidence. However, no competent evidence was presented of the origin of the samples and when they were obtained. Admission on such insufficient foundation would be the equivalent of allowing the defendant in a paternity case to offer a sample of blood as his own without establishing its origin by independent evidence. Neither was any evidence presented about the testing itself. We need not delve into what type or how much foundation was required for the admissibility of the results of Jackson's forensic hair analyses. Suffice it to say that in this case, there was no foundation laid at trial, and therefore, the results of the March 2003 drug tests and Jackson's testimony about them at the BNSF hearing should not have been admitted.