While not charged with crimes from the alleged lab misconduct, Madden is facing charges in San Mateo County resulting from a search of her home.
Madden was not supposed to possess a weapon because of a 2008 misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence, authorities said.
As to why so many cases were dismissed:
With evidence in cases Madden handled called into question and no technicians available in the now-closed crime lab to test drugs in new cases, prosecutors felt they had no choice but to free Belton and other defendants Wednesday.
However, the defendants may not get a permanent get-out-of-jail-free card.
The remaining drugs will probably be retested with a different analyst, he said, and the cases will be refiled. "Nothing will change," [Madden's attorney Paul ]DeMeester said. District Attorney Kamala Harris' office confirmed that it would seek to refile some of the cases once the drugs can be retested.
I wonder, if the cases are refiled, and the defense moves to have their expert do a quantitative analysis, and the weight of the drugs in the newly filed case doesn't match the weight of the drugs in the police reports from the date of seizure, how will the state prove the drugs in the new case are the substance seized from the defendant? If the weight is different, doesn't that create a reasonable doubt as to whether the tech didn't merely remove drugs from one case to use, but mixed and matched drugs from multiple seizures to cover up her actions?
DA Harris' spokesman says:
"We all acknowledge the right of defendants to be free of evidence that has been tampered with," Buckelew said. "We want to assure that a thorough investigation is conducted and we identify all cases of potential tampering."
I don't know how they can do that.
Another reason for the dismissals: The prosecution didn't reveal Madden's prior domestic violence conviction to the defendants preparing for trial, as they are required to do by discovery rules:
Public Defender Jeff Adachi said his office specifically asked in July whether Madden had any relevant convictions and that there had been "no evidence forthcoming."
Another issue: Is the new audit going to be a case of the fox guarding the henhouse?
Adachi demanded that an outside investigation of the crime lab be launched. The police-requested audit isn't good enough, he said, because the Police Department is picking the auditor.
And, if Madden has been tampering with the drug evidence, for how long? What about those defendants in jail based on drugs tested during her tenure?
Defendants found guilty more than a couple of years ago cannot challenge their convictions, Adachi said, because drug evidence used in cases before 2008 has been destroyed.
Finally, suspicions about Madden came to light 3 months ago. Why did the DA's office wait so long to disclose it?
