New Jersey government officials are still dealing with the aftermath of the revelation that Kamalkant Shah, a lab technician with NJ State Police, faked the results of evidence analysis in a marijuana case. At least a dozen people who were convicted of NJ drug crimes are now set to file lawsuits against the New Jersey State Police because Shah handled the evidence in their cases.
Shah, who recently retired from his role as a government laboratory technician, is named in the civil lawsuit. Also named in the tort claim are the New Jersey State Police, the NJ State Police Office of Forensic Sciences North Region Drug Unit, and NJ State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes. At this time, the names of the potential plaintiffs in the lawsuit have not been released, as reported by the New Jersey Herald.
In the weeks and months ahead, it is very possible that more lawsuits could be filed in connection with Shah’s fraud. Over the course of his 10-year career with the NJ State Police, Shah worked on 7,827 criminal cases, including 2,100 cases in Passaic County, 2,000 cases in Essex County, nearly 300 cases in Sussex County, and an undisclosed number of cases in Bergen County and Morris County. Now the evidence in all of those cases, which was used by municipal and county prosecutors to secure convictions, could potentially be questioned.
NJ officials are particularly concerned about affected cases that led to convictions of people who are currently incarcerated. Ernest M. Caposela, the assignment judge in Passaic County, believes that these individuals should probably be released from prison until investigators can determine whether the evidence analysis conducted by Shah in those cases was legitimate.
To learn more about this developing situation, read the NJ.com article, “Lawyer Plans to Sue State Police over Lab Tech Who Faked Results.”
If you or a loved one has been accused of simple possession of marijuana, heroin possession or any other drug offense in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, you should speak with a qualified criminal defense attorney now. The experienced criminal defense lawyers at Garber Law, P.C. will help you fight your charges and avoid the most severe penalties. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about your case.