Call For Drug Trials Revamp

The Age

Tuesday September 23, 2008

Peter Gregory, Law Reporter

LAWYERS have forecast earlier and greater scrutiny of court exhibits in drug trials following yesterday's revelation that drugs worth millions of dollars had allegedly gone missing from the police forensic science laboratory.

In an exclusive story, The Age reported that an internal police audit found drugs listed as destroyed years ago had been kept, and chemicals that should have been stored were missing.

The story suggested the failure to maintain stringent chain of evidence standards could affect coming trials.

Solicitor Michael McNamara, deputy chairman of the criminal law division at the Law Institute of Victoria, said authorities potentially faced huge problems if they could not produce the drugs that were the subject of serious charges. "So, (if) there's a suitcase full of drugs and you say 'Here's the drugs', that's good. If I say, 'Where are the drugs?' and you can't produce (them), where does your case go?"

Mr McNamara said cases had fallen apart in the past because a "chain of evidence" had not been maintained in drug prosecutions.

"If ... someone says to you, 'You want me to convict this bloke, but you can't produce the drugs', have you got (guilt beyond) reasonable doubt?"

Mr McNamara said defence lawyers often did not dispute police control of exhibits in drug cases.

But he said they might now have a closer look at the chain of custody.

Barristers who had appeared in drug cases said such requests might be made early in the court process.

One barrister said orders were regularly made to destroy or dispose of drugs when an accused person had pleaded guilty.

"You assume that somebody acts upon the order, but what physically happens, nobody knows," the barrister said.

A County Court spokeswoman said she could not comment on whether trials would be affected without knowing details of the cases.

© 2008 The Age

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