Commonwealth v. Montoya

During the defendant’s trial in the Superior Court on drug-related charges that included trafficking in cocaine over twenty-eight grams, certificates of chemical analysis establishing the weight and identity of the substance alleged to have been in the defendant’s possession (drug certificates) were erroneously admitted in evidence. At issue in this case is whether the improper admission of those drug certificates was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, where jurors had the opportunity to handle and examine the bags of powder cocaine in evidence. Because we conclude that unaided jurors would…