Harry Finn, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed Harry Finn Jr.'s conviction for possession of cocaine based on microscopic cocaine residue that was not visible to the naked eye. The court held that Kentucky law does not require possession of a measurable, usable, or visible quantity of a controlled substance, provided that other evidence establishes knowing possession. The court also upheld the denial of a directed verdict on the possession and drug-paraphernalia charges.

Holdings

1. Under Kentucky law, possession of any amount of a controlled substance, including a microscopic or invisible residue, satisfies the actus reus of first-degree possession of a controlled substance when the defendant knowingly and unlawfully possessed it. The prosecution need not prove a measurable, usable, or naked-eye-visible quantity.
2. The trial court properly denied the directed-verdict motion because the evidence, viewed as a whole, was sufficient for a jury to find that Finn knowingly possessed cocaine and used drug paraphernalia.
3. Neither the possibility of cross-contamination nor the jury's acquittal on marijuana possession required reversal because the jury could reasonably attribute the cocaine residue and paraphernalia use to Finn, and inconsistent verdicts are not necessarily reversible when each conviction is supported by sufficient evidence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a conviction for possession of a controlled substance may be sustained when the quantity of cocaine residue is microscopic, unmeasurable, and invisible to the naked eye.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to deny Finn's motion for a directed verdict on the cocaine-possession and drug-paraphernalia-use charges.
3. Whether the possibility of cross-contamination and the jury's acquittal on marijuana possession rendered the convictions inconsistent or unsupported.

Disposition

affirmed