Updating this earlier blog entry, the Indiana Supreme Court, on February 28, 2012 issued a statement regarding the "irregularities which may have occurred in the testing procedures employed by the Indiana State Department of Toxicology."
This statement, signed by Chief Justice of Indiana, Randall T. Shepard, noted that approximately 1000 samples were retested for maijuana and cocaine. The committee that was investigating the irregularities supplied aggregate data for 500 of the samples. Of these 500 samples, 497 of the defendants pled guilty to the charges, presumably based upon the test results. Of the individuals whose samples were retested, eighteen (18) are currently incarcerated. The irregularities in the testing led to the retesting of these samples. The results of the retesting fall into four categories:
1. Cases where the sample was inadequate for retesting;
2. Cases that showed the presence of the substance tested for;
3. Cases that showed the presense of a different substance; and
4. Cases that did not show the presenses of the substance originally reported.
These cases involved marijuana and cocaine. The charges each individual faced vary, but could include possession of marijuana, possession of cocaine, dealing in marijuana or dealing in cocaine.
If you have questions regarding drug crimes, drug testing or other criminal law matters, please contact Gregory A. Miller, a Fort Wayne Criminal Defense Lawyer, at (260) 833-7249.
