I have a trial coming up for pos. of controlled substance. (It is a juvenile case, but that is irrelevent for purposes of my question).

Our defendent brought a couple of roche pills to school. The pills are in evidence, and have the letter "R" on them. However, we have not received any lab work back to CONFIRM that they are in fact roche pills.

Do I need such a lab result even though, based on the officer's experience, he can identify these as roche pills?

Given the standard of BRD, I would say yes. Marihuana is about the only drug that is good to go with only officer testimony.

Your best bet is to get a friendly local pharmacist to come in and testify for you.
I've run in to this problem from time to time with "dangerous drugs" that DPS can't test.

Or, if one is nearby, you can get a chemist from the local DPS lab. They can testify to identification using the drug bible.

Echo the above. If you are near a lab city, then a dps chemist might be available. Otherwise, I recommend you cultivate a relationship with a local pharmacist so that you have a ready witness for court on dangerous drugs. You have to have an expert for anything other than marijuana.

By the way, isn't ROCHE a pharmacutical manufacturer and not the name of an illegal drug? Check your petition...

Why don't you use your (and my) esteemed state representative, Chuck Hopson? Now that will add some credibility for you and let Chuck get some good press on a pro-law enforcement side?