Hearing could set course for drug prosecutions

The manager of Delaware’s controlled substances lab says the office was in serious disarray when she took over last year. 

Robyn Quinn testified Tuesday at a court hearing involving two drug crime defendants that could determine the fate of hundreds of drug prosecutions in Delaware.

The hearing regards an evidence-tampering scandal at Delaware’s controlled substances lab that already has led to the arrests of two employees and dismissals or plea bargains in scores of drug cases.

Public defenders are arguing that prosecutors cannot meet their burden of establishing the integrity of evidence that was sent to the lab, and that hundreds of pending drug prosecutions should therefore be dismissed.

Prosecutors argue that only cases in which evidence tampering or theft has been found should be considered tainted.