In DuPage County, Illinois, the state’s attorney made an announcement on Friday regarding the dismissal of charges in 19 cases involving individuals who were accused of driving under the influence of marijuana. This decision was made due to the discovery of faulty blood testing procedures at a local laboratory.
The ABC7 I-Team initially brought attention to the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory (AFTL) back in December following an extensive investigation that spanned several months.
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Allegations have been raised against the UIC AFTL for providing inaccurate test results to prosecutors in over 1,000 cases throughout the state, leading to the convictions and imprisonment of many drivers.
DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin said he was dismissing the charges in these cases that relied upon accurate analysis of submitted samples and results.
“With the validity of the test results called into question, I could not, legally, ethically and in good conscience, continue the prosecution of these select cases,” Berlin said in a written statement to the I-Team.
Berlin continued, “For our justice system to function properly, the integrity of prosecutions must remain, above all else, intact and beyond reproach.”
Metro Chicago attorneys have accused the UIC AFTL of providing flawed test results to prosecutors in marijuana DUI cases that included inaccurate THC numbers, and testing results that were unable to distinguish Delta-9 THC from other commonly encountered THC isomers such as Delta-8.
The I-Team previously reported that the lab has also been accused in court filings of covering up the flaws since 2021.
In DuPage County, the state’s attorney said charges tied to the THC testing results were dismissed in two felony and 17 misdemeanor cases. Other charges in those cases that didn’t rely on the THC testing were not dropped, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
The I-Team reached out to the University of Illinois at Chicago, and they did not respond to the I-Team’s request for comment.
Previously, the UIC told the I-Team in a written statement that it had launched an internal investigation into “concerns raised regarding the testing of certain biological samples previously conducted at one of its laboratories.”
“As this is an ongoing process, we are unable to provide additional details at this time,” the UIC told the I-Team in December.
For west suburban defense attorney Don Ramsell, the 19 charges dismissed in DuPage County gives a glimmer of hope for his client Corey Lee of Sycamore, Ill., who was convicted in Boone County in 2022 of aggravated DUI resulting in death.
“My first thought was great, this starts the ball rolling, or keeps it rolling in a positive way,” Ramsell told the I-Team on Friday. “On the other hand, that evaporated in a moment, and I became quite angry. Why is Corey Lee still sitting in prison eight months after the Boone County State’s Attorney was notified of this fraudulent science?”
Lee, who admits having used cannabis in the past, insists he did not use it before getting behind the wheel the day of the crash that killed 52-year-old Pedro Pasillas-Sanchez and 22-year-old Pedro Pasillas-Delgado.
Lee spoke to the ABC7 I-Team last year while serving his sentence at Robinson Correctional Center in Southern Illinois.
“I know that I was not under the influence that morning,” Lee said.
ABC7 Legal Analyst Gil Soffer said this could be the tip of the iceberg of serious legal fallout.
“This is every prosecutor’s worst nightmare,” Soffer said. “They’ve completed cases. They’ve prosecuted cases. In some instances, there are people sitting in jail as a result of those cases, and now a fundamental part of their case is jeopardized.”
A spokesperson for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office told the I-Team it is “aware of the reported issue” and is reviewing its cases that relied on results from the UIC AFTL lab.
“We are proactively working to identify and thoroughly review any potentially affected cases,” the spokesperson said. “We are committed to ensuring the integrity of the legal process and will take swift and appropriate action in any case warranted.”
After the news of the cases dismissed in DuPage County, Ramsell is calling on all other local prosecutors to do the same.
“It’s really simple: Fraudulent science equals fraudulent convictions,” Ramsell said. “Step up to the plate and release the people that have been convicted based on this rogue lab. Do the right thing.”
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