The SJC weighs in on tainted drug convictions

We already heard about the amount of drug cases thrown out over the Dookhan case but now there's thousands more.  And note what Judge Gaziano says about the State prosecutors, "

 "the subsequent failure by two former assistant attorney generals to share what they learned about Farak’s violations". But of coarse, Baker, Healy and others are silent on this issue.

 

By John R. Ellement Globe Staff  October 11, 2018

In a sweeping ruling, the state’s highest court Thursday ordered the dismissal of thousands of drug convictions that were based on drug tests conducted at a state lab in Amherst, a ruling that was based on misconduct by a state chemist at the lab and two former assistant attorney generals.
The Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissals for every case that involved methampethamines during the nine years former state chemist Sonja Farak worked at the lab, as well as for every case involving drug evidence processed by anyone at the Amherst lab between Jan. 1, 2009, and Jan. 18. 2013, when she was fired.
Writing for the unanimous court, Justice Frank M. Gaziano said that Farak’s tampering with evidence samples to feed her drug habit and the subsequent failure by two former assistant attorney generals to share what they learned about Farak’s violations together warranted a fierce response by the the SJC, the ethical guardian of the state’ criminal justice system.
“We conclude that Farak’s widespread evidence tampering has compromised the integrity of thousands of drug convictions apart from those that the Commonwealth has agreed should be vacated and dismissed,’’ Justice Frank Gaziano wrote for the court. “Her misconduct, compounded by prosecutorial misconduct, requires that this court exercise its superintendence authority and vacate and dismiss all criminal convictions tainted by governmental wrongdoing.”

Gaziano added: “While dismissal with prejudice “is a remedy of last resort,” it is necessary in these circumstances.”
Between Farak and another former state chemist who tampered with drug samples at a different lab, Annie Dookhan, state prosecutors have had to throw out tens of thousands of convictions at the request of the defense bar, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Committee on Public Counsel Services.