Hairston v. Commonwealth of Virginia
Oct 06, 1987OUTCOME: Case was reversed and dismissed
Police found defendant holding an infant and discovered a package of cocaine between the infant's diaper and clothing. Defendant argued that that the evidence of possession was insufficient to support ... her conviction. On appeal, the court found that the Commonwealth's evidence failed to demonstrate sufficient acts or conduct from which the jury could properly infer that defendant knowingly possessed cocaine. The Commonwealth merely established that defendant held a child whose clothing contained a package of cocaine. No evidence was offered to show that defendant placed the cocaine inside the baby's sleeper or that she knew that cocaine had been placed there. The child was at defendant's house for approximately two and one-half hours before she came home and three male adults were with the child during this time. Defendant's act of holding the infant, while suspicious, was not such a conclusive item of circumstantial proof that it was inconsistent with her innocence.