Terry v. Commonwealth

In Terry v. Commonwealth, 5 Va. App. 167, 360 S.E.2d 880 (1987), the Court approved an instruction that told the jury it could consider the quantity, packaging, location, and use of the drugs in determining whether the defendant intended to distribute them. The instruction did not impermissibly highlight any of the evidence to the exclusion of other evidence. The Court emphasized the instruction informed the jury of the types of evidence it could use to reach legal conclusions but it did not suggest that specific evidence impelled any particular finding, comment upon specific facts proven in the case, suggest the credibility or weight which should be given any specific evidence, or characterize the evidence by describing it.