POST: "Lessons from HBO's The Wire and the Annie Doukhan drug lab controversy," by defence lawyer Denise Dolan, published on her Blog on November 13, 2013. (Yes, that's a few months ago. But it's a great read and I just heard about it now. HL.) Denise Dolan tells us that she, "has assisted multiple defendants, persons with pending and closed cases, affected by the Dookhan drug lab scandal."
GIST: "As Bandes notes, The Wire illustrates this concept of the “rigged chessboard in which the king stays the king” in virtually every institutional context. “Harm is done, day in and day out, by regular people trying to do and keep their jobs.” Justice is sacrificed for the survival of institutions. Pawns, not only in the drug trade but also in police departments, government, media, unions, and school systems, are picked off, “capped quick,” so that the king can stay the king. “Money trails are not followed. High value targets are not pursued. Whisteblowers are severely disciplined and usually banished. Explorations into root causes are tabled in favor of quick fixes or showy press conferences,” Bandes wrote. As a Wire enthusiast and Massachusetts criminal attorney, I couldn’t help but think of The Wire‘s lesson on institutional dysfunction, best articulated by Bandes, when news of the Annie Dookhan drug lab scandal broke. ........Dookhan continues to be characterized as a “rogue chemist” who acted alone, an overachiever motivated by a desire to be liked by superiors, police and prosecutors. This is certainly possible, but I don’t buy it. I think that Dookhan is just the tip of the iceberg, a quick-fix pawn, and that an independent investigation would reveal a much bigger, and a more frightening, picture of institutional failure."
The entire post can be found at:
http://denisedolanlawblog.com/2012/11/13/lessons-from-hbos-the-wire-and-the-annie-dookhan-drug-lab-controversy/
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
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.
