Some SF drug cases dismissed, more in jeopardy amid evidence handling issues at crime lab

SF drug cases at risk amid crime lab questions

SAN FRANCISCO — At least two dozen felony drug cases were dropped Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court amid questions of evidence tampering at the city’s crime lab.

Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the alleged problem involving a lab technician could affect a number of the 6,000 drug-related cases his office handles each year.

Adachi said a review was under way to see how many of his defendants’ cases were overseen by lab tech Deborah Madden, who took a leave of absence in December before retiring earlier this month.

Madden has not been arrested and no charges have been filed.

“We don’t know the extent of the possible misconduct,” said Adachi, raising questions about Madden’s credibility. “Hundreds, maybe thousands of people may have been convicted with evidence that may have been tampered.”

Madden’s attorney, Paul DeMeester, said Wednesday that Madden is “holding up well,” despite the attention.

“It’s an allegation of personal use and that’s all it is,” DeMeester said. “I know there’s people who think it may endanger the convictions.

“It’s kind of like the guy who works at a brewery and has an occasional beer there,” DeMeester said. “OK, it may be against policy, but doesn’t change the composition of the beer.

Adachi was also irritated that authorities never revealed that Madden, who has testified as an expert witness at trials, had a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction in 2008 and was arrested last week after a gun was found after police searched her home. She is out on bail.

Adachi said he’s also comtemplating asking a judge to oversee a third-party investigation into the allegations.

“This strikes right at the heart of justice in San Francisco,” Adachi said.

Madden, 60, retired after 29 years as a criminalist. Police Chief George Gascon said Tuesday that Madden’s job was to verify the weight and purity of seized drugs.

Gascon disclosed that investigations are under way and said no drug testing would be conducted in the crime lab that can usually handle up to 50 requests a day.

Gascon believes the suspected tampering was limited to a single person.

“I’m angry. I’m obviously disappointed. It puts the hard work of every other employee of the crime lab into question,” Gascon said at a Tuesday news conference. “At this point, we have absolutely no evidence for believing that it involved anybody else.”

Gascon said investigators noted small amounts of cocaine missing during a lab audit in December. He said other technicians suspected someone was stealing evidence and noticed tampering.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said evidence in pending cases will be retested at labs in other counties or by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

Cases will be refiled if necessary, Harris said.

An audit by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors made public on Tuesday said the San Francisco crime lab lacks proper chains of evidence custody, detailed record-keeping for cases and was not clean enough.