ΒΆ 10. "Generally, chain of custody is established if a sample is sealed and labeled upon collection and received by the technician performing the test in that condition." Dep't of Soc. Welfare v. Miller, 157 Vt. 92, 96, 595 A.2d 288, 290 (1991); see also State v. Comstock, 145 Vt. 503, 506-07, 494 A.2d 135, 137 (1985) (holding that a chain of custody is sufficient where the evidence arrived at the lab through the mail in the same condition as when the officer prepared it, with seal intact, and where there was "no evidence of tampering with, change in, or confusion of the sample during the mailing"). "The identity of a specimen used in drug testing need not be proved beyond all possibility of doubt to be admissible."
The State generally can meet its burden with respect to the chain of custody by demonstrating that "a sample is sealed and labeled upon collection and received by the technician performing the test in that condition." Dep't of Soc. Welfare v. Miller, 157 Vt. 92, 96, 595 A.2d 288, 290 (1991); see also State v. Comstock, 145 Vt. 503, 507, 494 A.2d 135, 137 (1985) (holding that a chain of custody is sufficient where the evidence arrived at the lab through the mail in the same condition as when the officer prepared it, with seal intact, and where there was "no evidence of tampering with, change in, or confusion of the sample during the mailing"). "The chain need not be perfectly established."