Judge Won’t Decide if Evidence Was Tainted Until McVeigh Trial

The judge in the Oklahoma City bombing case on Wednesday put off until the trial of Timothy J. McVeigh a decision on whether forensic evidence allegedly linking McVeigh to the blast was contaminated by the FBI crime laboratory.

Judge Richard P. Matsch, in an order filed in Denver, denied requests by defense attorneys for a separate pretrial hearing to determine whether the crime lab in Washington improperly contaminated McVeigh’s clothing and other material tested there.

The defense lawyers have argued that FBI chemists found residue on McVeigh’s clothing, his knife and his earplugs only after they first were improperly exposed to other chemical residue at the crime lab. They have cited an upcoming Department of Justice audit as evidence that the crime lab had a history of sloppy work. Matsch’s denial of the pretrial hearing means that McVeigh’s lawyers will be allowed to bring up their challenges again during his trial when prosecutors attempt to introduce the forensic evidence. The judge said that a special hearing then could take place away from the jury to determine whether there was contamination.

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was destroyed on April 19, 1995, resulting in the deaths of 168 people. The McVeigh trial is scheduled to begin March 31.