James Collard v. State Tennessee

COOPER, Justice. OPINION James Collard was convicted of selling Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) to an undercover agent of
the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and was sentenced to serve not less than five nor more than seven years in the state
penitentiary and was fined $1,000.00. The Court of Criminal Appeals, by a split decision affirmed the conviction. The disagreement
in the Court of Criminal Appeals was limited to the action of the trial court in allowing the state to cross-examine defendant
as to the use of drugs and defense witnesses as to their knowledge of the use of drugs in defendant's dormitory room at a
time prior to the date of the offense for which defendant was being tried. Certiorari was granted to determine if the cross-examination
was proper and, if not, was it prejudicial to defendant. The sale for which defendant was indicted and convicted allegedly took place at about 6:45 p.m. on October 20, 1972, in defendant's
dormitory room at Tusculum College. The defendant relied on an alibi defense and produced several witnesses who placed defendant
on the basketball court at Tusculum College at the time the alleged sale took place.