Court Opinion

ID: 9774113
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:09:06.651324+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:02.351147
License: Public Domain

O’CONNOR, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent from the majority’s resolution of point one. In point one, appellant contends there is insufficient evidence to show he knowingly possessed cocaine because there was no visible sign of cocaine in the crack pipe he possessed when arrested.
To resolve this point, we must compare the testimony of Officer Rodriguez and the chemist: Officer Rodriguez said he saw cocaine residue on the pipe; the chemist testified he found no visible cocaine on the pipe. Thus, whatever Officer Rodriguez saw on the pipe, it was not cocaine residue. The only cocaine found was inside the pipe.
The majority says that Rodriguez testified he saw the residue inside the crack pipe. His testified as follows:
*850Q: But you do know, you can tell the jury he wasn’t smoking crack cocaine when you came through that door; is that right?
A: When I saw him, he was not smoking.
Q: Now, this pipe that he had, or allegedly had, was there a visible amount of cocaine in it?
A: There was some residue in there. Q: Okay. Residue?
A: Yes.
Q: We are not talking about a rock being in the pipe, are we?
A: No.
Q: You’re not talking about something you can see with your eyes in terms of it being identifiable as crack cocaine or cocaine being in the pipe?
A: To my experience, you can tell it’s residue.
[[Image here]]
Q: What is residue?
A: It’s what’s left over after they smoke the cocaine.
Q: So, when the actual crack or cocaine is gone, by definition, that’s what the residue is, is that right?
A: No, it’s not gone.
The chemist from the HPD testified as follows:
Q: Okay. So, those 2 milligram of cocaine were spread out, crack cocaine, pure cocaine, whatever, was spread out over the entire length of this pipe, inside and out. I mean, it wouldn’t have been visible to the naked eye?
A: Generally, no. If it had been visible, I would have made a note to that effect. Q: Okay. So, for you to be able to determine that there was crack cocaine on this pipe, you have to resort to scientific analysis; is that correct?
A: Yes, sir.
The majority says the jury was free to believe Rodriguez’ testimony that the cocaine was visible. I disagree on this record. When the State’s own witness, an expert, testified that there was no cocaine residue on the outside, we must conclude that whatever the officer saw on the outside was not cocaine or its residue.
Recall that the amount of cocaine found inside the pipe was two milligrams, the equivalent of 10 grains of sugar. The following amounts of controlled substances have been held sufficient to convict for possession: 23.8 milligrams, Huff v. State, 630 S.W.2d 711, 713 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1981, pet. ref’d); 9.5 milligrams, Simpson v. State, 668 S.W.2d 915, 918 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1984, no pet.); 3.9 milligrams (0.4 in a syringe and 3.5 milligrams in a bag), Lavigne v. State, 782 S.W.2d 253 (Tex.App.— Houston [14th Dist.]), affd, 803 S.W.2d 302 (Tex.Crim.App.1990); 3.2 milligrams, Kent v. State, 562 S.W.2d 855, 856 (Tex.Crim.App.1978); 2.2 milligrams, Manuel v. State, 782 S.W.2d 335, 337 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1989, pet. ref’d); 1.7 milligrams, Tomlin v. State, 170 Tex.Crim. 108, 338 S.W.2d 735, 737 (1960); 0.8 milligrams, Thomas v. State, 807 S.W.2d 786 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1990, no pet.); 0.3 milligrams, Alejandro v. State, 725 S.W.2d 510, 515 (Tex.App.— Houston [1st Dist.] 1987, no pet.).
In Coleman v. State, 545 S.W.2d 831, 835 (Tex.Crim.App.1977), the Court of Criminal Appeals held that 5.06 milligrams was insufficient to support a conviction.1 Thus, of the above cases, any amount less than 5.06 milligrams is probably suspect. Here we have two milligrams. If 5.06 milligrams was not enough to sustain a conviction, two milligrams is also inadequate.
The effect of the majority’s holding today is that a minute amount of drug, fixed to the inside of drug paraphernalia, incapable of being seen by the eye, which must be washed in a chemist’s lab to dislodge the equivalent of 10 grains of sugar, is enough to charge a defendant with possession. On this record, the State should have charged defendant with possession of drug paraphernalia, not the cocaine itself. Tex. *851Health & Safety Code Ann. § 481.125 (Vernon Pamph.1991).
I would reverse.

. In Coleman, the defendant was found with 5/28,000 of an ounce, which is the equivalent of 5.06 milligrams. The formula is 5/28,000 oz. = .000178571 oz.; .000178571 oz./l X 1 mg./ .00003527 oz. = 5.06 mg.