Edwards J. Mitchell v. State

Edward Mitchell appeals his convictions for sale and possession of a controlled substance. At trial, the State called a crime laboratory analyst from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who confirmed the substance allegedly possessed and sold by Mitchell contained cocaine. After the State established the witness’s qualifications and experience, the State moved to have the witness “declared an expert in the field of controlled substance analysis.” Mitchell’s counsel confirmed that there were no objections to the witness’s expert qualifications. The court then stated, in the presence of…