Vernell Wigglesworth v. State of Oregon

DAVID R. THOMPSON, Circuit Judge:

Vemell Wigglesworth, an Oregon state prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of her petition for a writ of habeas corpus. She was convicted in state court of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance (cocaine). 1 The chain of evidence that tied Wigglesworth to the conspiracy was not strong. An essential link in that chain was a lab report which indicated the presence of cocaine in water Wigglesworth was flushing down a sink drain when she was arrested.

In this habeas proceeding, Wigglesworth argues that by admitting the lab report into evidence without…