Massachusetts Beats Civil Forfeiture Suit After Drug Lab Scandal

Former defendants in criminal cases tainted by a state drug testing labratory’s falsified evidence are constitutionally precluded from suing Massachusetts to recover their seized property, the First Circuit ruled.

The class’s lawsuit isn’t allowed under the Eleventh Amendment, which bars a state from being sued in federal court by its own citizens, said Judge Julie Rikelman of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

A state court vacated and dismissed over 30,000 criminal cases tainted by two state-employed chemists who tampered with drug evidence and falsified test results. The state court then said affected individuals were entitled to ...