GIST: "The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that 27,000 people who pleaded guilty or were convicted on drunk driving charges are eligible for a second chance.
Back in 2019, an investigation discovered breathalyzer testing machines were not calibrated properly, and that led to flawed test results.
The Supreme Judicial Court found "egregious government misconduct" and ruled all tests from the machine performed between June 1, 2011 and April 18, 2019 should be excluded from criminal prosecutions.
"The scientific attitude in that lab was an us against them, we're right, you're wrong, we're here to produce a guilty finding, as opposed to the scientific aspect that we're here to produce the truth," said Joseph Bernard, the defense attorney who was co-counsel in the case.
Defendants who plead guilty or were convicted with breathalyzer evidence can ask to have their pleas withdrawn or ask for a new trial. The cases are drawing comparisons to the state lab scandal, where thousands of drug cases were tossed out due to chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak falsifying evidence.
Berkshire-based chef Matthew Mottor, who was convicted of drunk driving on a faulty breathalyzer, said many reputations and livelihoods have been hurt and it's important to hear everyone's side of the story.
"You have to drive a lot to make a living, to make a career," said Mottor. "And in my life without having a license, that's basically a career ender."
The Massachusetts State Police said it is "reviewing today's decision and its impact."
"The Office of Alcohol Testing in recent years has implemented significant operational improvements to ensure that breathalyzer certification, case management, discovery processes and employee training are in accordance with all applicable laws and established forensic best practices," agency spokesman Dave Procopio said in a statement. "It is important to note that the OAT operating procedures described in today's decision predate those numerous and substantial reforms.""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
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