As expected, former SFPD drug lab employee Deborah Madden pleaded not guilty this morning to federal charges she took drugs from evidence at the lab in late 2009.

After the state Attorney General’s Office decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Madden last year, a federal grand jury indicted her last week.

Madden’s attorney has questioned the appropriateness of the federal charge against her, saying it has previously been applied to medical or pharmaceutical professionals who forge prescriptions.

aburack@sfexaminer.com