Chicago forensic testing lab accused of providing flawed results in marijuana DUI convictions

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Serious test questions about a Chicago lab could change the outcome of hundreds of impaired driving convictions in Illinois and that could unlock the jail doors for some DUI convicts.

After a months-long investigation, the ABC7 I-Team discovered some test results from a prominent Chicago lab used by prosecutors have been deemed unreliable and could be inaccurate.

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The lab, University of Illinois Chicago Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory, is accused of providing flawed test results in cases of driving-under the influence of marijuana, many of them resulting in motorists convicted and sent to jail, and there are allegations of a cover-up.

Corey Lee of Sycamore, Illinois was convicted in 2022 of aggravated DUI/cannabis resulting in death. He crashed into another vehicle in 2018, killing 52-year-old Pedro Pasillas-Sanchez and 22-year-old Pedro Pasillas-Delgado.

"There are two people that are no longer here and that is something that is difficult to talk about," Lee told the I-Team from the Robinson Correctional Center in Southern Illinois.

He admits having used cannabis in the past but insists he did not use it before getting behind the wheel that day.

"I know that I was not under the influence that morning," he said.

In a bench trial in Boone County, Illinois, a judge ruled otherwise, relying on a blood test result showing Lee's level of Delta 9-THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, at 6.5 nanograms. In Illinois, that's beyond the limit and is an illegal amount for motorists.

"It's malfeasance, misdirection and incompetence," criminal defense attorney Don Ramsell said.

Ramsell is a suburban DUI defense attorney and is one of the lawyers representing Lee who is now challenging his conviction which was based on a test done by the University of Illinois Chicago Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory.

A Boone County court filing claims the analysis of blood tests was somehow flawed, resulting in inaccurate THC numbers, and was unable to distinguish delta-9 THC from other commonly encountered THC isomers such as delta-8. It also accuses the lab of covering up the flaws since 2021.

"The University of Illinois Chicago lab has been providing misleading testimony in court, and as a result of that, their accrediting agency decided to audit the lab and then began to find a series of, they call them, nonconformance or failure to follow scientific standards, which has now put about 1,600 cannabis DUI cases that they tested in jeopardy," Ramsell said.

For months, the I-Team has been digging through records that raise concerns about the lab's analytical methods and how tests were conducted for substances that determine whether someone is driving under the influence of marijuana.

The tests should have been able to distinguish between delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC, the substance that actually should be measured to determine if someone is driving under the influence according to Illinois law.

"This is what I would describe as a festering scandal," said Jim O'Donnell, a Forensic Pharmacologist with Rush University Medical School.

O'Donnell's expertise as a forensic pharmacologist is typically used by defense teams in criminal trials.

"The consequences are great... you know there's people who are charged with felonies , their life is certainly affected. And if they are convicted, they may end up in prison," O'Donnell said.

Emails and internal communications obtained by the I-Team revealed the lab acknowledged testing problems last March and waited until May to alert police departments and prosecutors of possible flawed results.

"The supervision of the lab also was what I would describe as not doing the job, not staying up to date not dotting the I's and crossing the T's and following the scientific requirements and scientific recommendations," O'Donnell said.

Bruce Goldberg, a Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida, said in his over 40 years of experience lab scientists are good, credible people who want to produce accurate and reliable test results.

"People rely upon us as forensic scientists to do work that is reliable and defensible in court, and if we fail them, we fail the system which could impact highway traffic safety," Goldberg said. "There are instances, unfortunately, where we have had bad apples in the system, but that's the role of the court and the role of the accreditation process to discover these bad apples and to get them isolated and to be sure that they no longer do work."

The University of Illinois Chicago has now stopped doing tests for marijuana in law enforcement cases and issued the following statement.

"The University of Illinois Chicago is aware of concerns raised regarding the testing of certain biological samples previously conducted at one of its laboratories. The university is conducting an investigation to examine the matter thoroughly. As this is an ongoing process, we are unable to provide additional details at this time. UIC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of laboratory research integrity and compliance and to ensuring the well-being of the communities we serve."

"It's really a culture where laboratory analysts and labs still feel they're above the law, that their mistakes are internal and not to be shared with the rest of us," Ramsell said.

In the Corey Lee court filing, Ramsell claims the widely-used lab discovered its testing flaw as far back as 2021 but kept it secret and it wasn't disclosed.

In 2022, Lee was sentenced to six years in prison, and that is where he should stay according to attorney Patrick Salvi, who represented the Pasillas family in a 2020 civil case against Lee's employer.

A Boone County jury awarded the Pasillas family $9 million dollars.

In a statement, Salvi said, "Independent of any problem with the lab results, there was ample evidence of recklessness and the expectation is the full six year sentence should be served by Lee."

Lee said he believes he deserves some kind of punishment for what happened but does not think incarceration is the right way for him to pay his debt to society.

"I don't believe that the prosecutor or the judge was wrong, like they were, they were doing their job. But as far as the UIC lab, I believe that somebody there should have to answer for this," Lee said.

States attorneys across metro Chicago are already working to figure out which convictions were based on faulty lab results and how many defendants this may affect.