After a lab technician was caught mishandling the testing of evidence in drug cases, prosecutors are hoping to dismiss 1,169 drug cases due to destroyed evidence. In December 2015, Kamalkant Shah had allegedly recorded a positive identification for marijuana even though the evidence had not been tested also known as 'dry-labbing.' This prompted the re-examination of between 7,827-14,800 related cases. Shah has undergone a criminal investigation but was eventually not charged.
1,326 cases have been retested using a three step verification process which is more thorough than what had originally been used. This testing with newer methods is being hailed as a positive outcome of the scandal according to the first Assistant Public Defender Kevin Walker. All of the retested samples have proven to be positive for their original results.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said his office was "committed to ensuring that no conviction is upheld unless we are satisfied that any drug testing conducted was in fact reliable."
Speaking to the 1,169 cases in which the evidence had been destroyed, a spokesman for the Attorney General went on to say, ""We are working with Judge Jerejian, the Public Defender and the Administrative Office of the Courts to establish a process to dismiss those cases.'
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