ALBANY — A lawsuit filed by a former state trooper who was fired after testing positive last year for amphetamines can move forward following a state Supreme Court justice’s ruling this week that found she has made “sufficient allegations” that her due process rights were violated.
The petition filed in state Supreme Court in Albany on behalf of Jamie R. Kasper alleges State Police relied on an unauthorized urine test that her attorneys say may have returned a false positive due to her use of over-the-counter dietary supplements. Kasper is suing to get her job back as well as her police certification, which was revoked by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services in the wake of her termination in February by State Police Superintendent Steven G. James.
State Supreme Court Justice Daniel C. Lynch ruled this week on the legal claims underpinning the lawsuit, finding that Kasper’s attorneys have made proper arguments that her disciplinary hearing was tainted because the State Police used evidence that allegedly should have been excluded from the hearing. They said that positive test also was not referenced in the disciplinary charges filed against her, so it should not have been considered by the hearing board that recommended her termination…