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TWO WEEKS ago, State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, called for a special session of the General Assembly to deal with a legal crisis generated by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Now Gov. Tim Kaine has concurred, and has called legislators back to Richmond next month.

At issue is the 5-4 ruling in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, in which the court found that the defendant had a right under the Sixth Amendment to confront his accusers--in this case, forensics scientists who had certified the substance found in the defendant's possession was cocaine.

The potential for a serious breakdown in the ability of Virginia's commonwealth's attorneys to prosecute drug and alcohol offenses in particular was immediately apparent to Mr. Cuccinelli, who, by the way, is running for state attorney general. In Virginia, results of forensics tests are usually certified by lab scientists and presented in court as a document. Requiring in-person testimony would tie up the time of scientists, reduce the number of cases the lab could handle, and potentially nullify convictions already obtained.

Although Mr. Kaine initially rejected Mr. Cuccinelli's call in favor of an administrative action, he's now seen the light. The fix is legislative: Virginia can change the law to a "notice-and-demand" system whereby the prosecutors will give defense attorneys a deadline by which they must determine if they want to cross-examine the lab workers. That will satisfy the Sixth Amendment without paralyzing forensics labs.

Everything is suspect in an election year, and Mr. Cuccinelli took some heat from his opponent in the attorney general race for his call for a special session. Del. Steve Shannon, R-35th, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch Mr. Cuccinelli's request was "a [public-relations] stunt that would cost taxpayers money." His campaign manager, Mike Henry, said Mr. Cuccinelli was "attempting to cover his weak record on drunk-driving laws."

Maybe not. Mr. Kaine's press release states, "a special session is the most effective way to ensure compliance with Melendez-Diaz and ensure that pending cases in Virginia are handled in an orderly fashion." Come Aug. 19, the loophole for defendants in drug and other cases should be closed.