ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 14, 1997 TAG: 9702140061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Justice Department has advised 50 prosecutors that FBI lab problems could affect their cases. And that figure might grow, Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick said Thursday.
``In each of the cases ... there could be an issue raised by defense counsel,'' Gorelick said. ``We're just going to have to see how each court reacts to each separate fact pattern that's presented'' before anyone can say whether lab errors will harm the prosecutions.
But an attorney for the whistle-blower who first made allegations about lab errors said Gorelick was minimizing the problem. ``The figure of 50 is considerably understated. We believe when finished it will be well over 1,000 cases,'' said Stephen Kohn, attorney for FBI scientist-agent Frederic Whitehurst.
Whitehurst, who triggered an investigation of the lab by the Justice inspector general, has charged that parts of the lab are contaminated, that supervisors lack adequate scientific training, and that lab reports and testimony have been biased in favor of prosecutors. A still-secret draft report by the inspector general supports some but not all of his charges, officials have said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Gorelick herself suggested the number of affected prosecutions could grow after the report is completed.
``We have, over the course of this investigation, informed about 50 prosecutors, about half of them state or local prosecutors, of issues relating to their cases that they should consider with regard to their disclosure obligations,'' Gorelick said. ``Ongoing review might increase that number.''
Prosecutors are required to disclose to defense attorneys any evidence that might clear their clients.
Three FBI supervisors have been transferred out of the lab as a result of the draft report. Whitehurst was suspended with pay after refusing to cooperate with a separate inquiry into leaks of his allegations.
Federal prosecutors preparing for the trial of Timothy McVeigh for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing have replaced one of the transferred lab supervisors with another expert witness from the lab as a result of the draft report.
Federal prosecutors in Seattle dropped one count of possessing a destructive device against a member of the separatist Freeman group after an FBI lab technician testified this week that a detonator had been mistakenly listed as part of the apparatus. The technician testified the device actually had no detonator or fuse and was unlikely to detonate.
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