In the last few issues we have discussed scanning news sources for discrete events which may be "early warning signs" of trends which would significantly impact law enforcement property and evidence. The first such event identified was a courthouse bombed in an attempt to destroy evidence on a pending case. Sure enough, in the next issue we were able to document a second, similar case.

Two events have occurred recently which show a similar possibility of being the "first of many". Will similar events develop into a trend? If so, what impact will it have on the law enforcement property and evidence function? What can I do now to reduce the negative impact?

Will property room cleanliness become as important as chain of custody?

The November 5, 1997, USA Today had an article headlined "Nichols team pulls surprise. Photos show filthy building where evidence was stored." In the second trial of the Oklahoma City bombings, prosecutors included in their opening remarks that the FBI had been "sloppy" in the handling of evidence. Here are some quotes:

The defense team in the Oklahoma City bombing trial of Terry Nichols produced surprise photographs Tuesday of a filthy warehouse where the government initially stored evidence in the case. Other materials, including the twisted axle of the truck that carried the bomb, sat amid boxes stuffed with some of the 7,000 pounds of evidence taken from the wreckage of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. There was no proof that the items had been contaminated, but the photographs provide an early signal that Nichols' attorneys will aggressively challenge every aspect of the government's case.

Prosecution witness James Elliott, who managed the makeshift evidence warehouse before retiring from the FBI, acknowledged under cross-examination ... that the place was a mess. He said the warehouse was still in need of cleaning ... and pointed out 'fluids' leaking from the confiscated vehicles spilling on the floor."

Obviously the jury saw through the ploy and found Nichols guilty, but will we now see defense attorneys across the country take the lead from this highly publicized case and start attacking not only the security and chain of custody of the evidence, but the cleanliness of the facility in which it was held? Stay tuned!

Will police begin to legally deal in drugs?

The 11/21/97 Los Angeles Daily News featured an AP article by Karyn Hunt headlined "San Mateo County may give seized pot to medical users". Since California's Prop 215 authorized medicinal use of marijuana in some situations, defense attorneys and prosecutors have been battling to set court precedent.

San Mateo County Supervisors on a 5-0 vote have proposed that its sheriff's office test, photograph and catalog seized marijuana for use in trial, and then send it to a public health clinic. It would be tested for freshness and contamination "quality standards" and then be doled out to "authorized" users. The State Attorney General has assigned a staff lawyer to the project. The county administrator reported that the county has as much as $200,000 worth of marijuana in its evidence rooms on any given day, and between 500 and 1,500 people who would be eligible to use it. He said that San Francisco, Monterey and Santa Barbara Counties have expressed interest in a similar program.

Can you envision a time when law enforcement will divert the evidence, propose a cost recovery program from the end users or the medical organizations prescribing the marijuana, and ultimately even sell it directly in competition with private growers? Impossible? No more so than the legal use of marijuana for medicinal purposes was just 15 years ago!