Annie Dookhan: Massachusetts: (Annie get your...dope? HL); Top state court should toss 24,000 convictions connected to disgraced chemist, ACLU says... A brief (PDF) filed on Friday argues that public defenders would need 48 years to assign lawyers to each individual defendant, according to a press release and the Boston Herald. The brief, filed with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, says the state has labored for four years to litigate each case, yet about 24,000 cases remain unresolved. The brief was filed on behalf of three drug defendants by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, state public defenders and the law firm Fick and Marx."..."“The Dookhan debacle has not been, and never will be, resolved through case-by-case litigation,” the brief (link to PDF provided) says. The convictions of the so-called Dookhan defendants “should be vacated and dismissed,” according to the brief. The brief points to a second lab scandal that could affect as many as 18,000 cases. “The commonwealth’s indigent defense system has no more capacity to litigate all these cases than it does to build a rocket ship and fly it to Jupiter,” the brief says." Reporter Debra Cassens Weiss; ABA Journal;

STORY: "Top state court should toss 24,000 convictions connected to disgraced chemist, ACLU says," by reporter Debra Cassens Weiss, published by the American Bar Association  (ABA) Journal on September 27, 2016.

GIST: "The top court in Massachusetts is being asked to toss more than 24,000 convictions that are linked to a chemist who admitted to tampering with evidence samples to favor law enforcement. A brief (PDF) filed on Friday argues that public defenders would need 48 years to assign lawyers to each individual defendant, according to a press release and the Boston Herald. The brief, filed with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, says the state has labored for four years to litigate each case, yet about 24,000 cases remain unresolved. The brief was filed on behalf of three drug defendants by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, the national ACLU, state public defenders and the law firm Fick & Marx. The case is Bridgeman v. District Attorney.  The chemist, Annie Dookhan, pleaded guilty to charges that included obstruction of justice, perjury and tampering. She served a three-year sentence, according to this Boston Globe article published in July. “The Dookhan debacle has not been, and never will be, resolved through case-by-case litigation,” the brief says. The convictions of the so-called Dookhan defendants “should be vacated and dismissed,” according to the brief. The brief points to a second lab scandal that could affect as many as 18,000 cases. “The commonwealth’s indigent defense system has no more capacity to litigate all these cases than it does to build a rocket ship and fly it to Jupiter,” the brief says. A spokesman for the Suffolk District Attorney’s office told the Boston Herald that the 48-year estimate is exaggerated."
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_state_court_should_toss_24000_convictions_connected_to_disgraced_chemis

The entire story can be found at:

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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.