Reply #147: oooops, forgot something else... [View All]

[TorchTheWitch]

Nifong has to go through NC's SBI since he doesn't have any real choice but to do so. His client is the state, and he has no one to bill if he sent the samples somewhere else for testing. He is required by law to have the NC SBI test the samples, but after that he could if he wanted then send the samples (once he got them back) to a private laboratory for additional or re-testing (like he did with the DNA). But that would take even longer. He's stuck with waiting on the NC SBI to generate their report and send him back the samples however long that takes. The NC SBI only has to return the report and samples within a reasonable time before the start of trial, and we know that won't be for another year at the earliest.

Since it appears that the NC SBI is in Raleigh, he may be able to use his influence and do some arm twisting to get the report back sooner than whatever is considered normal in NC.

However, personally, I think he already has the report and is sitting on it. I could be wrong, but with the NC SBI in Raleigh and his influence I would think he would be able to get the report generated as quickly as he got the DNA report generated. But who knows. It may also be that the NC SBI in Raleigh has to send the samples somewhere else for date rape drug testing because they may not have the ability to do that sort of testing like what was the case with Alabama.

I haven't been able to find any indication that the NC SBI is capable of handling the testing of date rape drugs, but since they are accredited, I'm assuming that they can. The NC SBI website is pretty sparse and gives no indication as to whether or not it is capable of doin testing for date rape drugs specifically.