STATE OF MARYLAND v. STEVEN YOUNG
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Adkins, December 18, 2018,
Evidence – CDS prescriptions – A prescription for CDS, when properly authenticated, is not hearsay if used as a defense to a CDS charge.

Affirming COSA Opinion


The Court seems to have some real issues nailing down what “hearsay” is, precisely, other than “stuff I don’t think should be admitted as evidence.”
Better explanations:
Moylan in Holland v. State

Facts:
In 2014, Det. Larbi and his squad executed a search warrant on Marbourne Ave. in Lakeland.
Young was the target of the warrant and was arrested outside of the residence. He was mirandized and returned to the residence for execution of the warrant.
Once inside, he told the officers that he lived there and that he had drugs in his bedroom. In that bedroom, Detective Larbi found 32 pills of methadone, 7 pills of Xanax, and 3.5 grams of heroin. Detective Larbi also discovered in a kitchen cabinet downstairs 3 plastic bags each containing 100 oxycodone pills, another plastic bag containing 42 oxycodone pills, more heroin, and $1,498 cash. Young admitted that he sometimes sold drugs.
Prior to trial, Young tried to introduce as evidence prescriptions for Methadone, Xanax (alprazolam), and Percocet (oxycodone + acetaminophen).
However, the trial court rejected these prescriptions as hearsay and they were not allowed into evidence.
Young was convicted.
On appeal, Young argued that the prescriptions were not hearsay because they were being used as a legal defense.
The Court of Special Appeals agreed with Young and reversed his non-heroin CDS convictions, holding that the prescriptions were allowable as a defense to the CDS charges.
The State then requested review from the Court of Appeals, arguing that the prescriptions were still hearsay.

Held: