Rounding out Grits' synopsis of interesting cases from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hand down list last week (see also here, here, here, and here), I should mention that the Court overturned five more drug convictions on Wednesday because lab reports came back after the plea deal saying there were no drugs or less drugs than alleged by the government.
These cases have become increasingly common. Other than expanding funding for crime labs, I'm not sure what the practical solution is in an era when the Drug War operates at such high volumes. But perhaps eliminating trace cases would help reduce crime-lab caseloads and wait times, particularly in Harris County which saw three of the five cases overturned last week.
Here's your fork, there's the ocean, feel free to shovel back any quantity you desire.
ReplyDeleteThese cases do not necessarily indicate a problem with lab completion times. They more likely occur because people are too poor to come up with the money to make bail, so they are desperate to be released. They would prefer to plead guilty, even if they know they are innocent, rather than wait in jail for the lab reports to come back.
ReplyDeleteagree with 1:18 also state of tx don't get in no hurry about anything and don't care about you! or the familys just the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
ReplyDeleteState run drug testing labs in Texas are abysmal in their turnaround time for sample testing. Many judges will grant a PR bond when they know that the defendant is only waiting on a lab result. But you never want to take a deal without a lab result. Who knows what the lab will find (or not find).
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely unethical and unfair that our court system's prosecutors use tax payer money to prosecute tax payers (a bottomless pit. While the poor tax payer is told to hire an attorney, that works for the court. If this system is so great, Why is it so backed up and takes years to try a case? When the prosecutor is wrong or looses, why doesn't he pay?
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