Special Judge Assigned to Handle Drug Conviction Challenges Involving Disgraced NJ State Police Lab Tech

There continue to be significant consequences stemming from the revelation that a New Jersey State Police lab technician faked evidence in a marijuana possession case. Now the NJ Supreme Court has assigned a special judge to deal with the anticipated challenges of previous drug convictions connected to the disgraced lab tech.

Kamalkant Shah worked for roughly a decade with the North Regional Lab Drug Unit at the NJ Office of Forensic Sciences laboratory, which is located in Little Falls, New Jersey. After Shah was seen fabricated results in a marijuana case in December 2015, authorities opened an investigation into his conduct. Shah subsequently resigned from his position in February 2016.

During his tenure at the Little Falls lab, Shah reportedly handled evidence in approximately 7,800 drug cases out of 13 different counties. Although NJ officials cannot definitively say exactly how many drug evidence test results may have been compromised by Shah – so far, investigators have confirmed just the one instance of faking results – all of the drug evidence that Shah played a role in testing may now be in question.

Law enforcement is currently sifting through hundreds of lab samples and trying to determine whether any other drug convictions need to be overturned as a result of Shah’s involvement in the testing process.

The NJ Supreme Court recently weighed in on the matter and assigned Bergen County Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian to review challenges of convictions that were based, in part, on evidence that was tested by Shah. There will likely be hundreds of official legal challenges from individuals who were convicted and/or pleaded guilty to illegal drug possession charges, necessitating the order by the Supreme Court to let a dedicated judge handle any cases “where the relief sought is based on allegations that (Shah) failed to appropriately conduct laboratory analyses, peer review, or administrative review of purported drug evidence.”

The assignment of Judge Jerejian was made after the NJ Attorney General’s Office requested help with the matter. The hope is that the special judge will provide the courts with additional resources so that they can “fairly, efficiently, and uniformly” review drug conviction challenges.

For additional information about this case, read the following article: Special judge to review N.J. drug cases after lab tech accused of faking results