Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 13:00:10 GMT -5
Lab backlog means justice is delayed, even denied
A backlog in evidence-testing is creating delays throughout the criminal
justice system, leaving prosecutors and local law enforcement authorities
struggling to bring some cases to trial.
The delays, particularly in drug cases, have led to the dismissal of at
least 2 cases and left dozens of inmates sitting in the crowded Tarrant
County Jail waiting for lab results.
10 crime labs have closed statewide, including one private lab in Fort
Worth, since the state last year required them to be accredited through
the Texas Department of Public Safety. The remaining 26 labs have seen
tremendous increases in requests to test suspected drug samples, DNA and
other evidence.
The number of requests for chemistry work through the Tarrant County
medical examiner's office, for example, has more than doubled in the last
4 months, compared with the same period in 2005.
And Tarrant County Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani says the backlog of
cases has grown to hundreds.
"I can still get a case done in a few days, but that just means another
case has to get pushed into the stack of backlogged cases," he said.
"There is definitely more work now that there are fewer labs to test all
this evidence."
Peerwani recently increased fees for lab work and received approval from
Tarrant County commissioners to hire two new chemists to help handle the
increased workload. Construction on new medical examiner's facilities,
which would include an expanded chemistry lab, is expected to begin next
year as part of the $433 million bond package approved by voters in May.
But the backlog is reaching critical levels, prosecutors and local judges
say. In a few cases, drug suspects have been released on bail because lab
results were not available in time to present their cases before a grand
jury.
Prosecutors have 90 days to take a case to the grand jury for a suspect in
jail and 6 months for suspects who have posted bail.
A positive field test -- a small kit that can determine whether a
substance may be a narcotic -- is sufficient for police to obtain an
arrest warrant. But criminal prosecutions require a conclusive lab test,
said Curt Stallings, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney.
"A presumptive field test doesn't carry the scientific weight to convict,"
said Stallings, chief of the pretrial division.
The delays also prevent prosecutors from offering plea bargains for jailed
suspects, who could opt to plead guilty to avoid the grand jury process.
There could be dozens of those cases, authorities estimate.
Last year, Forensic Consulting Services in Fort Worth closed rather than
go through the costly and time-consuming process of accreditation, said
former owner Max Courtney, who now teaches forensic science at Baylor
University.
The private lab contracted with dozens of area police agencies and focused
most of its business on analyzing suspected drug samples.
Courtney said he could often return lab results within days.
"I don't think people realize how much work we were doing," he said.
The Fort Worth crime lab, which has begun contracting with area police
agencies, can return chemistry tests within 10 days, according to a
criminal justice study by Tarrant County.
But most agencies have their evidence processed through the Tarrant County
medical examiner or a Texas DPS lab in Garland.
DPS serves 20 North Texas counties and 45 to 50 police agencies. The DPS
crime labs received an average monthly total of 5,339 chemistry and DNA
cases during 2005. In June, they received 5,855 cases. The DPS lab in
Garland averaged 819 cases a month in 2005, compared with 893 cases in
June.
The average turnaround time to get a drug case analyzed in a DPS lab is
about 6 weeks, about one week longer than last year, DPS spokesman Tom
Vinger said. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office, which contracts
with 52 area police agencies, is completing drug case testing in about 8
weeks, compared with about 3 weeks last year.
Typically, the medical examiner's office tests 20 to 30 cases at a time.
But expedited cases must be tested separately, making the lab less
efficient, Peerwani said.
"It will take us a few months before we can catch up with all the backlog
unless our workload keeps increasing," Peerwani said. "It really boils
down to funding. I think the Commissioners Court realizes this is a
critical issue."
A backlog in evidence-testing is creating delays throughout the criminal
justice system, leaving prosecutors and local law enforcement authorities
struggling to bring some cases to trial.
The delays, particularly in drug cases, have led to the dismissal of at
least 2 cases and left dozens of inmates sitting in the crowded Tarrant
County Jail waiting for lab results.
10 crime labs have closed statewide, including one private lab in Fort
Worth, since the state last year required them to be accredited through
the Texas Department of Public Safety. The remaining 26 labs have seen
tremendous increases in requests to test suspected drug samples, DNA and
other evidence.
The number of requests for chemistry work through the Tarrant County
medical examiner's office, for example, has more than doubled in the last
4 months, compared with the same period in 2005.
And Tarrant County Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani says the backlog of
cases has grown to hundreds.
"I can still get a case done in a few days, but that just means another
case has to get pushed into the stack of backlogged cases," he said.
"There is definitely more work now that there are fewer labs to test all
this evidence."
Peerwani recently increased fees for lab work and received approval from
Tarrant County commissioners to hire two new chemists to help handle the
increased workload. Construction on new medical examiner's facilities,
which would include an expanded chemistry lab, is expected to begin next
year as part of the $433 million bond package approved by voters in May.
But the backlog is reaching critical levels, prosecutors and local judges
say. In a few cases, drug suspects have been released on bail because lab
results were not available in time to present their cases before a grand
jury.
Prosecutors have 90 days to take a case to the grand jury for a suspect in
jail and 6 months for suspects who have posted bail.
A positive field test -- a small kit that can determine whether a
substance may be a narcotic -- is sufficient for police to obtain an
arrest warrant. But criminal prosecutions require a conclusive lab test,
said Curt Stallings, a Tarrant County assistant district attorney.
"A presumptive field test doesn't carry the scientific weight to convict,"
said Stallings, chief of the pretrial division.
The delays also prevent prosecutors from offering plea bargains for jailed
suspects, who could opt to plead guilty to avoid the grand jury process.
There could be dozens of those cases, authorities estimate.
Last year, Forensic Consulting Services in Fort Worth closed rather than
go through the costly and time-consuming process of accreditation, said
former owner Max Courtney, who now teaches forensic science at Baylor
University.
The private lab contracted with dozens of area police agencies and focused
most of its business on analyzing suspected drug samples.
Courtney said he could often return lab results within days.
"I don't think people realize how much work we were doing," he said.
The Fort Worth crime lab, which has begun contracting with area police
agencies, can return chemistry tests within 10 days, according to a
criminal justice study by Tarrant County.
But most agencies have their evidence processed through the Tarrant County
medical examiner or a Texas DPS lab in Garland.
DPS serves 20 North Texas counties and 45 to 50 police agencies. The DPS
crime labs received an average monthly total of 5,339 chemistry and DNA
cases during 2005. In June, they received 5,855 cases. The DPS lab in
Garland averaged 819 cases a month in 2005, compared with 893 cases in
June.
The average turnaround time to get a drug case analyzed in a DPS lab is
about 6 weeks, about one week longer than last year, DPS spokesman Tom
Vinger said. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office, which contracts
with 52 area police agencies, is completing drug case testing in about 8
weeks, compared with about 3 weeks last year.
Typically, the medical examiner's office tests 20 to 30 cases at a time.
But expedited cases must be tested separately, making the lab less
efficient, Peerwani said.
"It will take us a few months before we can catch up with all the backlog
unless our workload keeps increasing," Peerwani said. "It really boils
down to funding. I think the Commissioners Court realizes this is a
critical issue."