Overview
Our client was arrested and charged with trafficking over 200 grams of heroin, a charge carrying a mandatory minimum state prison sentence. Law enforcement claimed to have recovered a large quantity of heroin from a vehicle in which our client was a passenger. The stakes were high — a conviction would have meant a minimum 10-year sentence and permanent felony record. But as we quickly discovered, the Commonwealth’s case was plagued by serious constitutional and procedural flaws.Charges
- Trafficking in Heroin (200 grams or more)
- Conspiracy to Violate the Controlled Substances Act
- Possession with Intent to Distribute
Defense Strategy
Our strategy focused on two fatal flaws in the Commonwealth’s case: the destruction of critical evidence and the misconduct of the lead chemist responsible for testing the alleged drugs.
- No Sample for Independent Testing: The government failed to preserve any portion of the alleged heroin for defense testing. Despite being aware of our client’s intent to challenge the substance’s composition, the entire sample was used by the state lab. We argued that this constituted a denial of due process and deprived the defense of a meaningful opportunity to rebut the prosecution’s evidence.
- Lead Chemist’s Integrity in Question: We uncovered that the state’s lead chemist had a prior disciplinary history for “dry-labbing” — the illegal practice of falsifying test results without actually conducting chemical analysis. Through pretrial discovery and expert review, we demonstrated that the same chemist had handled our client’s sample and had been involved in prior misconduct cases that led to overturned convictions.
- Motion to Dismiss: Based on these two issues — the spoliation of evidence and the lack of reliability in the drug certification — we filed a motion to dismiss all charges. We cited case law requiring the state to preserve testable evidence in trafficking prosecutions and argued that the entire prosecution rested on tainted and unreliable forensic claims.
Outcome
The court allowed our motion. All charges were dismissed with prejudice, meaning the case could not be refiled. Our client walked out of court a free man, with no criminal record and no further legal jeopardy.Result:
- ✅Trafficking — Dismissed with Prejudice
- ✅Conspiracy — Dismissed
- ✅Possession with Intent — Dismissed
- ✅Case Sealed and Client’s Name Cleared
Reflections
This case highlights two core principles of our practice: hold the government to its burden, and never trust the evidence until it’s tested independently. At Maloney Law, we scrutinize every ounce of the Commonwealth’s case — especially when science, liberty, and credibility are on the line.