Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U

United States v. Jones

486 F.2d 476 (1973)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. Jones

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
486 F.2d 476 (1973)

  • Written by Arlyn Katen, JD

Facts

A federal jury convicted Clifford Jones (defendant) of intentionally and knowingly distributing heroin. The district court admitted a lock-seal envelope containing narcotics as evidence. The agent who obtained the narcotics testified that he transported the narcotics to Kansas City, Missouri, placed the narcotics in a lock-seal envelope, and mailed it to a forensic laboratory via certified mail. The agent also testified that the narcotics offered as evidence at trial were in the same condition that they were in when he received them. A chemist at the forensic laboratory testified that he took the lock-seal envelope of narcotics from the laboratory’s evidence vault, conducted chemical testing to determine that the substance in the bag was narcotics, placed the narcotics and original lock-seal envelope inside of another lock-seal envelope, and placed the envelope in a vault. Jones appealed from his conviction, raising several claims. In relevant part, Jones argued that the government (plaintiff) did not establish a proper chain of custody for the narcotics because it failed to present testimony from an evidence technician at the laboratory who initially received and stored the narcotics.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Advanced Evidence

Key Terms