Cocaine, chain of custody, evidence, due process,

Michael Brown appeals his conviction on charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Police officers arrested Brown during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. During his arrest, a container dropped from his pocket and was later determined to contain cocaine. Police placed the evidence in a secure vault were it remained for several days before being shipped to a state crime lab for analysis. The lab confirmed the evidence was cocaine and returned the material to the police through a private carrier.

A trial court overruled Brown's objections and admitted the cocaine as evidence. Brown argued the evidence should be suppressed because its chain of custody had been violated when it was stored for several days and shipped via a private carrier. The court noted Brown submitted no evidence to support his challenge. The court convicted him of all charges. Brown now appeals.

Brown loses. The Virginia Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower jurisdiction. The appeals court ruled the lower court acted correctly when it allowed the cocaine to be admitted as evidence against Brown.