Judge Asks DA to Drop Hundreds of Drug Cases, Says Gov't Didn't Check for Witness Issues
A California judge called during a court hearing yesterday for the San Francisco district attorney to dismiss hundreds of drug cases, unless and until doubts about the evidence created by a police drug lab scandal can be resolved. As many as 600 cases could be at issue, in addition to several hundred already dismissed by the district attorney’s office for this reason.
Meanwhile, the situation has also led San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to question the procedures being followed by District Attorney Kamala Harris’ office to check the background of prosecution witnesses, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
A police criminal probe is being conducted to determine whether the retired lab technician at the center of the scandal, Deborah Madden, stole drug evidence. Also at issue is the government’s failure to disclose to defense attorneys Madden’s 2008 domestic violence misdemeanor conviction in San Mateo County.
Because the district attorney’s office routinely told defense attorneys in cases in which Madden’s evidence was used that no prosecution witness had been convicted of a crime, Massullo is questioning whether the district attorney’s office adequately investigated before making this assertion, the newspaper recounts.
Police have said they didn’t tell the district attorney’s office about the conviction, but on Tuesday Massullo asked lead drug prosecutor Sharon Woo to provide a written explanation of the research the district attorney’s office does before representing that its witnesses have no convictions. It was not forthcoming by yesterday’s hearing, leading to a back-and-forth between Massullo and Woo as the judge sought a more specific explanation.
“I’m assuming, honestly, there is no process,” the judge finally said.
Related coverage:
ABA Journal: “Taking Trials to Court”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge to Review 1,100 Crime Lab Docs; PD: ‘This Could Be Pandora’s Box’”
Recorder: “San Francisco Crime Lab Scandal Is Fiasco for Law Enforcement and Feast for Defense Bar”
