SCHEME TO FAKE DRUG TESTS FOR CASH SUSPECTED AT COURT

Feds Think Pair May Have Used Jail Time As Threat

Federal investigators are questioning officials at Orleans Parish Criminal
District Court about an alleged scheme in which a defense lawyer and a
former court-employed drug counselor asked people on probation for money and
offered to make it look as if they passed a urine drug test that they never
took, courthouse sources said.

Calvin Johnson, the chief judge at Criminal District Court and one of
several judges who has a specialized drug court, said he didn't know
details of the federal investigation. But he confirmed that a few
weeks ago, Angie Kirkland lost her job running a drug court program in
his section after law enforcement began looking into the allegations.

Probationers came to court officials complaining of "something being
afoot," Johnson said.

Kirkland could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

No arrests have been made or charges filed, according to a check at
U.S. District Court on Wednesday. But federal investigators were
meeting with officials on Wednesday afternoon.

Johnson said he couldn't determine whether any probationer's drug test
had been altered by anyone working for the state court.

"In our system we have checks and balances," Johnson said Wednesday.
"Maybe it's possible for a case manager to fudge a drug test, but I
don't know how. It's computerized. The results are computer generated."

It's unclear whether money actually changed hands, but the alleged
scheme involved using the threat of jail time to intimidate
probationers into paying cash to satisfy their obligations to test
clean to stay in the program, according to defense attorneys and
courthouse employees.

But failing a drug test doesn't automatically translate into jail time
for probationers. "There are graduated sanctions," Johnson said.
"Community service is the first sanction for failing a drug test.
They're drug addicts. We expect (some) to fail."

Drug court is a much-praised program that offers treatment instead of
jail time for first and second offenders. Certain offenders caught
with drugs are placed on probation and required to report to a judge
weekly and submit to urine tests at least weekly.

The allegations of wrongdoing should not overshadow the integrity of
the drug court program, Johnson said.

"We have an extensive program, the largest drug court program in
Louisiana, and the one that the Supreme Court considers the flagship
program for the state," Johnson said. "We do things extremely well and
that's verifiable."

District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office hasn't been involved in any
investigation into alleged bribes at drug court, his spokeswoman said.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jim Letten answered no questions Wednesday when
called for comment.