Opinion ID: 785776
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Gaskin's Possession of Marijuana

Text: 80 Judged by this standard, Gaskin's claim that the evidence was insufficient to prove his possession of marijuana borders on the frivolous. Gaskin was arrested while taking possession of an eighty-six-pound load of marijuana. Nevertheless, he insists that the evidence was insufficient to prove that the substance seized was in fact marijuana because the drug exhibits in the case were received in evidence without the proper foundation of a chemical analysis. The parties, however, stipulated to the testimony of a forensic chemist that she had personally tested the drug exhibits and found all to contain marijuana. Pursuant to Rule 705 of the Federal Rules of Evidence, the jury was entitled to credit this stipulation of opinion without further testimony regarding the particular analyses supporting the chemist's conclusions. See Fed.R.Evid. 705 (permitting expert to testify in terms of opinion ... without first testifying to the underlying facts or data, unless the court requires otherwise); Ambrosini v. Labarraque, 966 F.2d 1464, 1468-69 (D.C.Cir.1992). 8 81 In any event, neither actual drug exhibits nor reports of chemical analysis are required to support a conviction for possession of a controlled substance. See United States v. Bryce, 208 F.3d 346, 353-54 (2d Cir.1999). As we noted in Bryce,  `[l]ay testimony and circumstantial evidence may be sufficient, without the introduction of an expert chemical analysis, to establish the identity of the substance involved in an alleged narcotics transaction.' Id. (quoting United States v. Dolan, 544 F.2d 1219, 1221 (4th Cir.1976)). A reasonable jury could have concluded from the testimony of accomplice witnesses Gahr and Shaw, as well as from the extensive circumstantial evidence linking Gaskin to the marijuana seized from these couriers, that, at various times, Gaskin had been in actual or constructive possession of the marijuana charged in Counts Two and Six. Although Gaskin vigorously argues that the courier witnesses were not reliable, we must assume that the jury resolved all credibility disputes in favor of the prosecution. See United States v. Desena, 287 F.3d 170, 177 (2d Cir.2002); United States v. Anglin, 169 F.3d 154, 159 (2d Cir.1999). 82