More than 400 criminal cases under review after Wyoming lab fails firearms test – SVI-NEWS

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• The review of the decade’s cases could lead to the verdicts being overturned. There is currently no timetable for the work to be completed.

By Madelyn BeckWyoFile.com

Wyoming’s attorney general says more than 400 cases need to be reviewed after the Wyoming State Crime Laboratory’s weapons unit failed an annual proficiency test.

Given the large number of cases, it is unclear how long these efforts will take – and whether they will lead to the overturning of convictions.

The weapons unit failed the test in November, said Attorney General Bridget Hill, and the results were released in February.

“We then immediately began talking with our accreditation committee to determine what corrective actions we need to take,” Hill told the Joint Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning.

“During the initial steps of corrective action, additional issues or concerns were identified related to the lab, particularly during microscopic examinations,” Hill said. “And because of these additional concerns, we suspended the work of our firearms unit at the lab in May of this year.”

The state has hired experts to examine the firearms sent to the crime lab for now, she said. Other outside agencies have been hired to review the cases, and Hill said there should be sufficient funding in her budget to do so.

“We have been very transparent about this,” Hill said. “We have informed prosecutors, we have informed the defense – both state and federal – we have informed law enforcement that we have experienced this problem and that we need to take remedial action.”

Hill said her office sent a letter to those groups in July informing them that the state was re-analyzing previous tests and asking for their help in identifying and prioritizing cases in which convictions and prosecutions were based on firearms-related evidence.

WyoFile first reported on the issue in July after the letter was published, but few details were publicly known at the time.

To maintain accreditation, cases from the past decade must be reviewed, Hill said, which is why so many must be reviewed.

“It’s very important that the lab is accredited because it’s the only crime lab in the state,” she said. “It’s very important that it’s trustworthy.”

When asked if there was a timetable for processing the more than 400 cases, Hill said there was not. In some cases, it was clear relatively quickly that the outcome of a case was correct.

“They are the ones who are more in need and need some time,” she said.

This does not affect any part of the lab other than the weapons division, Hill said. She added that she is proud of the crime lab and that it recently won awards for its efficiency.

The crime lab is under the Wyoming Division for Criminal Investigation, one of six units of the Attorney General’s Office. Other units include a law firm, the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, the Wyoming Peace Officers Standards and Training, the Wyoming Division of Victims Services and the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities.

“We will continue to take these corrective actions to ensure that we are in compliance with the law, but also to identify and correct the root cause of the problem. We also want to ensure that we retain our accreditation if we are able to resolve these matters,” Hill said.

WyoFile is an independent, nonprofit news organization focusing on the people, places and politics of Wyoming.