STORY: "Retrial date set for crime lab tech accused of cocaine fraud," published by the San Mateo Patch on October 6, 2012.
SUB-HEADING: "Deborah Madden, 62, of San Mateo, is accused of illegally acquiring cocaine from the laboratory's narcotics analysis unit in 2009."
GIST: "Madden's first trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco ended Wednesday with a hung jury. Jurors said after being dismissed that they were split at various times during the deliberations by a 10-2 or 9-3 vote in favor of conviction. During the first trial, defense attorney Paul DeMeester conceded that Madden took cocaine, but argued there was no proof of deception and said she just took "what's in front of her when she works." The new date was set by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco at a status conference Friday. The hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 12, but was moved to today, DeMeester said. The defense attorney said jury selection is scheduled for Jan. 14 and opening statements and witness testimony will begin on Jan. 22, after the Martin Luther King holiday. DeMeester said that on Madden's behalf, he offered prosecutors a plea bargain in which she would plead guilty to a lesser charge of cocaine possession. But the federal prosecutors told him on Thursday that they declined the offer. A conviction on the possession charge would have carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison, while the maximum for the fraud charge is four years. In a separate case, Madden pleaded guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court in 2011 to possessing a small amount of cocaine found in her home in March 2010. She was sentenced to undergo drug counseling."
The entire story can be found at:
SUB-HEADING: "Deborah Madden, 62, of San Mateo, is accused of illegally acquiring cocaine from the laboratory's narcotics analysis unit in 2009."
GIST: "Madden's first trial in the court of U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco ended Wednesday with a hung jury. Jurors said after being dismissed that they were split at various times during the deliberations by a 10-2 or 9-3 vote in favor of conviction. During the first trial, defense attorney Paul DeMeester conceded that Madden took cocaine, but argued there was no proof of deception and said she just took "what's in front of her when she works." The new date was set by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco at a status conference Friday. The hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 12, but was moved to today, DeMeester said. The defense attorney said jury selection is scheduled for Jan. 14 and opening statements and witness testimony will begin on Jan. 22, after the Martin Luther King holiday. DeMeester said that on Madden's behalf, he offered prosecutors a plea bargain in which she would plead guilty to a lesser charge of cocaine possession. But the federal prosecutors told him on Thursday that they declined the offer. A conviction on the possession charge would have carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison, while the maximum for the fraud charge is four years. In a separate case, Madden pleaded guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court in 2011 to possessing a small amount of cocaine found in her home in March 2010. She was sentenced to undergo drug counseling."
The entire story can be found at:
http://sanmateo.patch.com/articles/retrial-date-set-for-crime-lab-tech-accused-of-cocaine-fraud
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site. One word of caution: It may take several weeks for content from current posts to respond to the search. Search away!
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
