Story Archive

Drug Court

Criminal-defense lawyer John David Moore Jr. thinks the disappearance of evidence means his client should go free, or at least be tried again. It’s not that the opioid pills never made it to the jury; it’s that they weren’t still there after the jury went home. Did the pills go home with a juror? The Franklin County, Ohio, sheriff’s office is investigating, but a prosecutor said jurors may have left the evidence unmonitored during breaks, in a jury room off a hallway where court personnel, lawyers, and law enforcement roam. “And no matter what happens,” said prosecutor Ron O’Brien, “it shouldn’t affect the fact that the evidence showed that [Moore’s client] possessed the drugs” when he was arrested. The defendant was convicted of possessing various drugs — including heroin and meth that did not disappear. (AC/Columbus Dispatch) ...“They didn’t take the heroin?” said the defendant. “Definitely not my peers.”