                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ADMISSION INTO EVIDENCE OF CERTAIN CERTIFICATES OF ANALYSIS (§ 19.2-187)

A. In any hearing or trial of any criminal offense or in any proceeding brought
pursuant to Chapter 22.1 (&#xA7; 19.2-386.1 et seq.), a certificate of analysis
of a person performing an analysis or examination, duly attested by such person,
shall be admissible in evidence as evidence of the facts therein stated and the
results of the analysis or examination referred to therein, provided that (i)
the certificate of analysis is filed with the clerk of the court hearing the
case at least seven days prior to the proceeding if the attorney for the
Commonwealth intends to offer it into evidence in a preliminary hearing or the
accused intends to offer it into evidence in any hearing or trial, or (ii) the
requirements of subsection A of &#xA7; 19.2-187.1 have been satisfied and the
accused has not objected to the admission of the certificate pursuant to
subsection B of &#xA7; 19.2-187.1, when any such analysis or examination is
performed in any laboratory operated by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory
Services or the Department of Forensic Science or authorized by such Department
to conduct such analysis or examination, or performed by a person licensed by
the Department of Forensic Science pursuant to &#xA7; 18.2-268.9 or
46.2-341.26:9 to conduct such analysis or examination, or performed by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Service, the federal
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Naval Criminal Investigative
Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration, the Forensic Document Laboratory of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security, or the U.S. Secret Service Laboratory. For
purposes of this section, any laboratory that has entered into a contract with
the Department of Forensic Science for the provision of forensic laboratory
services shall be deemed authorized by the Department to conduct such analyses
or examinations.

B. In a hearing or trial in which the provisions of subsection A of &#xA7;
19.2-187.1 do not apply, a copy of such certificate shall be mailed or delivered
by the clerk or attorney for the Commonwealth to counsel of record for the
accused at no charge at least seven days prior to the hearing or trial upon
request made by such counsel to the clerk with notice of the request to the
attorney for the Commonwealth. The request to the clerk shall be on a form
prescribed by the Supreme Court and filed with the clerk at least 10 days prior
to the hearing or trial. In the event that a request for a copy of a certificate
is filed with the clerk with respect to a case that is not yet before the court,
the clerk shall advise the requester that he must resubmit the request at such
time as the case is properly before the court in order for such request to be
effective. If, upon proper request made by counsel of record for the accused, a
copy of such certificate is not mailed or delivered by the clerk or attorney for
the Commonwealth to counsel of record for the accused in a timely manner in
accordance with this section, the accused shall be entitled to continue the
hearing or trial.

C. The certificate of analysis of any examination conducted by the Department of
Forensic Science relating to a controlled substance or marijuana shall be mailed
or forwarded by personnel of the Department of Forensic Science to the attorney
for the Commonwealth of the jurisdiction where such offense may be heard. The
attorney for the Commonwealth shall acknowledge receipt of the certificate on
forms provided by the laboratory.
			Any such certificate of analysis purporting to be signed, either by hand or
by electronic means, by any such person shall be admissible as evidence in such
hearing or trial without any proof of the seal or signature or of the official
character of the person whose name is signed to it. The attestation signature of
a person performing the analysis or examination may be either hand or
electronically signed.

D. Any testimony offered by either party in a preliminary hearing or sentencing
hearing, or offered by the accused in any hearing other than a trial, from a
person who performed an analysis or examination that resulted in a certificate
of analysis may be presented by two-way video conferencing. The two-way video
testimony permitted by this section shall comply with the provisions of
subsection B of &#xA7; 19.2-3.1. In addition, unless otherwise agreed by the
parties and the court, (i) all orders pertaining to witnesses apply to witnesses
testifying by video conferencing; (ii) upon request, all materials read or used
by the witness during his testimony shall be identified on the video; and (iii)
any witness testifying by video conferencing shall certify at the conclusion of
his testimony, under penalty of perjury, that he did not engage in any
off-camera communications with any person during his testimony.

E. For the purposes of this section and &#xA7;&#xA7; 19.2-187.01, 19.2-187.1,
and 19.2-187.2, the term &#8220;certificate of analysis&#8221; includes reports
of analysis and results of laboratory examination.

F. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a locality to
purchase a two-way electronic video and audio communication system. Any decision
to purchase such a system is at the discretion of the locality.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 19.1-106.1; 1974, c. 200; 1975, c. 495; 1976, c. 245;
1983, c. 178; 1984, c. 607; 1988, c. 494; 1990, cc. 737, 825; 1992, c. 56; 1994,
cc. 41, 375; 1995, c. 437; 1999, c. 296; 2000, c. 336; 2002, c. 832; 2005, cc.
868, 881; 2006, c. 294; 2009, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 1, 4; 2010, c. 656; 2011, cc.
384, 410, 645; 2014, cc. 328, 674, 719; 2015, cc. 75, 126; 2017, c. 669; 2019,
cc. 478, 479.