Some of that yellow yellow. (U.S. Marine Corps) A Marine Corps gunnery sergeant and Afghanistan war hero saw his drug conviction overturned this fall by the Navy and Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals.
Gunnery Sgt. Rory R. Hirst’s conviction was based on a urine sample that tested positive for an illegal drug.
But during the course of the appeals process, the case against Hirst revealed troubling shortfalls in how at least one urinalysis lab handled samples of service members being tested for drugs.
A positive drug test result is a career killer for service members, and can lead to a federal conviction, confinement and a dishonorable discharge.
Given the stakes, precision is a must in such settings, and Hirst’s court records raise questions about how at least one such lab is being run.
“The Sailors and Marines who face the devastating consequences of a criminal conviction while being afforded diminished constitutional protections should expect, and this Court will require, substantial compliance with the Department of the Navy’s urinalysis program,” appeal judge Navy Capt. Brian Mizer wrote in the ruling overturning Hirst’s conviction.
“That did not happen here.”
The gunny pleaded not guilty at trial in April 2022 and was initially convicted, reduced in rank to sergeant and sentenced to 90 days in the brig.
RELATED Sailor charged with trying to set fire to his urine sample The Virginia-based sailor attempted to torch the pee to avoid "an adverse administrative proceeding," according to charge sheets.By Geoff Ziezulewicz That conviction was based on a purported positive test for the illegal drug MDMA that happened following the July 4th holiday in 2021.A lab doctor testified that the drug level found in Hirst’s urine “was so low that he may not have felt the effects of the drug,” and given that low level, the doctor was unable to say whether Hirst’s alleged use of the drug was wrongful, according to the appeal court ruling.In the September appeal court’s overturning of the conviction, Mizer recounted the recurring, widespread and shoddy practices of the Navy urinalysis lab at Great Lakes, Illinois, that handled Hirst’s sample.The Marine staff sergeant who oversaw the urine […]
Piss poor: Inside the ‘sloppy’ practices of a military urinalysis lab
