Williams v. State

987 So. 2d 1122, 2007 Ala. LEXIS 255, 2007 WL 3409000
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedNovember 16, 2007
Docket1061378
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 987 So. 2d 1122 (Williams v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Williams v. State, 987 So. 2d 1122, 2007 Ala. LEXIS 255, 2007 WL 3409000 (Ala. 2007).

Opinions

STUART, Justice.

The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed, without an opinion, Carlos Raymond Williams’s conviction for the unlawful possession of a controlled substance, i.e., cocaine. Williams v. State (No. CR-05-1585, June 15, 2007) - So.2d - (Ala.Crim.App.2007)(table). Williams petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals, arguing that its decision conflicts with this Court’s decision in King v. Garrett, 613 So.2d 1283 (Ala.1993). We affirm.

Montgomery Police Department narcotics officers arrested the driver of a parked vehicle, Williams, and the front-seat passenger, Xavier Jointer, and charged them with possession of 1.12 grams of crack cocaine found in the vehicle. The narcotics officers saw the cocaine in the dashboard area of the vehicle as they approached the parked vehicle. The narcotics officers were unable to determine who owned the cocaine, and they arrested both men for constructive possession of the controlled substance.

Before Williams’s trial, the State properly filed a notice of intent to prove that the substance was cocaine by way of a certificate of analysis. See § 12-21-301, Ala. Code 1975. The clerk’s record includes a copy of the notice and a copy of the certificate of analysis, which indicates that the substance found in Williams’s vehicle was cocaine. This copy of the certificate of analysis included the notarized statement of the forensic scientist who conducted the test. At trial, the trial court, at the State’s request, admitted into evidence a copy of the certificate of analysis; however, this copy of the certificate of analysis did not include the second page, which contains the requisite notarized signature of the forensic scientist who conducted the test. Williamses counsel timely objected to the admission of the certificate of analysis, stating: “Objection; lack of proper predicate and conformity with statutory requirements.” The trial court overruled Williams’s objection. At the close of the evidence, Williams moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the State had failed to prove that the substance seized [1124]*1124from the vehicle was cocaine because the only evidence admitted at trial establishing that fact was the certificate of analysis, which did not comply with the requirements for admission provided in § 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975. The trial court overruled Williams’s motion. Williams was convicted of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a violation of § 13A-12-212, Ala.Code 1975, and was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

Williams appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals. On appeal, Williams argued that the trial court exceeded the scope of its discretion by admitting into evidence the certificate of analysis, which did not conform with the statutory requirements of § 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Williams’s contention, holding in its unpublished memorandum that the certificate of analysis had been properly admitted. The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the record established that the second page of the certificate of analysis containing the notarized signature of the forensic scientist who had conducted the test was admitted at trial “although it became unattached prior to being submitted to the court reporter [and being included in the trial record].”

Williams petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari to address a conflict between the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals and this Court’s decision in King v. Garrett, supra. This Court held in King: “If the record does not contain the matter or materials considered by the trial court, then this Court has no basis upon which to review the trial court’s judgment.” King, 613 So.2d at 1284. Williams argues that the Court of Criminal Appeals erred by looking outside the trial record to the clerk’s record to determine whether the certificate of analysis conformed with

§ 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975. We granted the writ.

Section 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975, provides, in pertinent part:

“In any criminal case, ... the prosecuting authority may offer a certificate of analysis ... in lieu of direct testimony....
“The certificate of analysis shall give the name and address of the facility in which the examination or analysis was made, and it shall be signed by and sworn to as true and correct, under penalty of law, by the person making the examination or analysis.”

“ ‘The question of admissibility of evidence is generally left to the discretion of the trial court, and the trial court’s determination on that question will not be reversed except upon a clear showing of abuse of discretion.’ ” Gavin v. State, 891 So.2d 907, 963 (Ala.Crim.App.2003)(quot-ing Ex parte Loggins, 771 So.2d 1093,1103 (Ala.2000)).

Our review of the record indicates that the trial court exceeded the scope of its discretion by admitting the certificate of analysis into evidence because the certificate of analysis admitted at trial and submitted to the jury did not satisfy the requirements of § 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975. It appears that the Court of Criminal Appeals, recognizing that the trial court record contained only the first page of the certificate of analysis indicating that the substance was cocaine and did not include the second page of the certificate with the notarized signature of the forensic scientist who conducted the test, ordered the trial court to determine if the second page had been admitted at trial but mistakenly omitted from the trial record. The official court reporter for the trial court responded to the order, stating:

[1125]*1125“Upon receipt of your Order, I contacted our clerk’s office to see what was submitted to you. I also contacted [the assistant district attorney] who prosecuted this case. [The assistant district attorney] checked his records and today furnished to me the second page of [the certificate of analysis]. Apparently, this second page became unstapled prior to its submission to me.”

The court reporter’s statements clearly indicate that the certificate of analysis admitted at trial and submitted to the jury did not include the second page containing the notarized signature of the forensic scientist who conducted the test. Therefore, the trial court exceeded the scope of its discretion by admitting the certificate of analysis into evidence because it did not satisfy the requirements for admission as provided in § 12-21-300, Ala.Code 1975.

Williams contends that this error resulted in prejudice because, he says, the State did not otherwise prove that the substance found in his vehicle was cocaine. We disagree.

A review of the entire record indicates that the trial court’s improper admission of the certificate of analysis resulted in error without injury.

Rule 45, Ala. R.App. P., provides, in part:

“No judgment may be reversed or set aside, nor new trial granted ... on the ground of ... the improper admission or rejection of evidence ... unless in the opinion of the court to which the appeal is taken or application is made, after an examination of the entire cause, it should appear that the error complained of has probably injuriously affected substantial rights of the parties.”

(Emphasis added.)

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Related

Mark Allen Jenkins v. State of Alabama.
105 So. 3d 1234 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
987 So. 2d 1122, 2007 Ala. LEXIS 255, 2007 WL 3409000, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/williams-v-state-ala-2007.