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Thursday, February 16, 2006
Ind. Courts - Judge clears way for challenge to oral drug tests
"Judge clears way for challenge to oral drug tests: Mary Harper hopes case will address concerns over accuracy" is the headline to this story today in the Munster (NW Indiana) Times. Some quotes:
VALPARAISO | Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary Harper agreed Wednesday to provide funding for lab work in a case she hopes will address concerns about the reliability of an oral drug test used by the county's adult probation department. "I absolutely want to know the truth of the situation," she said.Porter County Public Defender Peter Boyles requested the funding to challenge a positive drug test for client Sherry Farden. * * *
Boyles is among several defense attorneys in the county who have voiced doubts about the accuracy of the mouth swabs carried out on behalf of the county by Great Lakes Lab in Valparaiso.
Lab Director Michael Caplis has stood behind the accuracy of the tests, saying positive results are followed up with a confirmation test. He said at least part of the concern is the result of a misunderstanding about drug testing.
Boyles had a mixed reaction to Harper's funding decision. While the judge invited him to submit a funding request, Boyles said he is having a difficult time finding a lab that is able or willing to retest the mouth swab.
Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Trista Hudson said the mouth swabs are new to this area and other local labs may not be equipped to carry out this sort of test. She downplayed a notion that other labs are intimidated by Great Lakes.
The ruling was also bittersweet for Boyles in that he had hoped the judge would approve the funding request in private and without notifying prosecutors. Now that prosecutors know a test is being carried out, he said his defense will suffer if he opts not to introduce the results as evidence. He said his client has a constitutional right to the same level of privacy as those who can afford a private attorney and who have no need to seek public funds from a court.
Harper said she would keep the identity of the lab and cost of the test under wraps. She also said prosecutors would have known something was up anyway when a request was submitted for access to the original mouth swab. The Indiana Supreme Court has frowned upon these types of requests being carried out in secret, she said. That is not to say it is never appropriate and will never be granted, she said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 16, 2006 01:45 PM
Posted to Ind. Trial Ct. Decisions | Indiana Courts