SEATTLE — The King County prosecutor’s office has declined to file perjury charges against Ann Marie Gordon, a state toxicology lab manager who falsely certified quality-assurance samples used in drunken driving breath tests.
The prosecutor’s office found Gordon did sign forms stating she had “examined and tested” solutions when the work was done by a subordinate, but she did not knowingly swear a false statement. She argued she believed signing the forms was simply a function of her oversight of the testing.
Gordon resigned in July.
A 10-page legal analysis released by the prosecutor’s office noted that verifying the accuracy of the solutions could have been done by as few as three people in the lab; Gordon was one of a dozen who signed off on them.
“Gordon’s participation in the testing of the simulator solution was not required,” the document said. “But in this case she signed, knowing full well that the solution had been tested to the full requirements of the law and well beyond. This supports a finding that her act of signing the form may well have been sloppy, or an honest mistake, but not an act done with criminal intent.”
Gordon’s behavior figured prominently in arguments from defense lawyers who have said problems in the state lab were reason to throw out drunken driving charges.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
