Was special session a win for Cuccinelli?

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli is claiming a political victory after the General Assembly Wednesday heeded his call for a legislative fix to state trial evidence laws following a precedent-setting U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer.

And several observers seem to agree with the Fairfax County Republican running for attorney general this year.

Early on, Cuccinelli said Virginia needed to adjust its laws in response to the high court decision in the Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts case that placed a burden on prosecutors to present live testimony from forensic scientists in court.

The SCOTUS opinion found that a failure to make lab analysts available as witnesses denies defendants the constitutional right to confront an accuser.

Without a legal remedy, some Virginia prosecutors had said the ruling could lead to drug and drunk driving cases being tossed out of court.

Del. Steve Shannon, a Fairfax County Democrat running for attorney general, was initially reluctant to join Cuccinelli's call for a special session. At the time, he responded by accusing Cuccinelli of failing to support past legislation dealing with the admissibility of evidence in drunk driving trials.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine subsequently called a special session of the General Assembly to deal with the forensic evidence issue.

The temporary fix approved by the General Assembly Wednesday sets up a 28-day period for prosecutors to tell defense attorneys they plan to use a lab report as evidence. Defense teams then have the option of accepting the report or demanding the courtroom appearance of a forensic scientist.

The law change also creates flexibility in the state's speedy trial rules to allow for the scheduling of an analyst to testify.

-- Julian Walker

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