STORY: (Boston); "Gov. Patrick orders chemist's cases reviewed," by reporter Denise Lavoie, published by Associated Press on November 27, 2012.
GIST: Gov. Deval Patrick has ordered a “file-by-file review”
of every case handled by a Massachusetts chemist accused of faking test
results at a now-closed government lab, as authorities continue to deal
with the fallout from a scandal that threatens to unravel thousands of
criminal cases. The chemist,
Annie Dookhan,
is accused of skirting protocols and manipulating drug samples at a
former Department of Public Health drug lab where she worked for nine
years. She has pleaded not guilty to charges in the case, but
prosecutors said in a court motion Tuesday they expect she will be
indicted. The scandal has already led to hundreds of legal challenges to
criminal convictions in cases in which Dookhan tested drug samples. David Meier, a former state prosecutor appointed by the governor to
identify cases Dookhan worked on, said Tuesday that Patrick has
authorized a massive review of Dookhan’s cases, estimated to number
about 34,000. “In order to do that, the governor has decided to devote whatever
resources are necessary to do a file-by-file review of each of her
cases,” Meier said. Speaking to reporters, Meier said his team has identified about
10,000 people whose drug cases were potentially affected by Dookhan’s
alleged misconduct."
The entire story can be found at:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/gov-patrick-orders-chemists-cases-reviewed/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
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.
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.