CRIME LAB BACKLOG FRUSTRATES JUDGES, ENDANGERS JUSTICE

Because of a state crime lab backlog of thousands of drug cases, some
felony defendants in Warren County may be allowed to plead guilty in
exchange for probation. This is cause for concern.

If this is allowed to happen, there is plenty of blame to go around.

The greatest crime lab backup is among solid dose cases, which normally
take lab investigators about three to five months to process. But the labs
are behind, meaning the lag time in some instances is eight months. That
certainly does not contribute to defendants' Sixth Amendment right to a
fair and speedy trial; neither does it help prosecutors, who cannot move
forward on cases without the needed evidence.

A Kentucky State Police spokesperson blames the problem on the retirement
of five people in the drug division last year and the hiring of 10 people
in October. Knowing that it takes six months or more to train these
investigators and that their work is crucial toward the procuring of
justice, there should have been anticipation of this turnover.

Hiring new inspectors sooner would have ensured that the work of the
division could have continued without even longer delays. Instead, hiring
new inspectors and wading through the six-month training process means the
rights of defendants to a fair and speedy trial is in danger and the sanity
of prosecutors trying to obtain justice is in peril.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, also need to cooperate with the lab by
getting their requests submitted as soon as possible. While it may be
necessary in some cases to push for hurried-up work on a case, most of the
time prosecutors can work more efficiently to get their requests submitted
to the state crime lab sooner. With greater efficiency being demanded on
the part of all state government entities, asking the commonwealth's
attorneys to do their part is reasonable.

Prosecutors also can help by agreeing to use video testimony from
scientists who then can spend more time looking at evidence in the lab and
less time in court.

Using technology to accept pleas from defendants at a jail, for example,
rather than having to transport them is being used in many places to make
the operation more efficient and more secure. If this can be done with
inmates, it also should be acceptable to receive standard testimony from
lab scientists, except in overly complicated cases that demand hours of
testimony and a presence in court.

Finally, judges need to be sure that the frustration of delayed evidence
does not allow decisions that may not be in the best interest of justice.

The Daily News reported this week that defendants in nearly 50 cases who
are facing felony drug charges in Warren County could receive probated
sentences in exchange for guilty pleas.

Warren County Circuit Judge Tom Lewis' penchant for moving cases along is
well known. Normally, that's good, especially with the way court dockets
are piling up. But sometimes it may not be, especially if cases are
probated where a more severe punishment could be in order.