Chemist Admits Tampering with Drug Samples
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Amicus Brief
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT No. SJC-12932 COMMONWEALTH Plaintiff/Appellee, v. BRAULIO CALIZ Defendant/Appellant ON APPEAL FROM THE HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT BRIEF OF MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANT BRAULIO CALIZ Chauncey B. Wood, BBO #600354 Anthony D. Mirenda, BBO #550587 Massachusetts Association of Caroline S. Donovan, BBO #683274 Criminal Defense Lawyers Christopher E. Hart, BBO #625031 50 Congress Street, Suite 600 Samuel C. Bauer, BBO #693532 Boston, MA 02109 Emily J. Nash, BBO #696460 (617) 248-1806 Rachel Davidson, BBO #703341 [email protected] Foley Hoag LLP 155 Seaport Blvd Boston, MA 02210 Tel: (617) 832-1000 Fax: (617) 832-7000 [email protected] 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES .......................................................................... 4 INTERESTS OF AMICUS CURIAE ............................................................. 8 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT .............................................. 9 RULE 17(C)(5) DECLARATION .................................................................. 9 STATEMENT OF ISSUES .......................................................................... 10 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT ........................................................... 11 ARGUMENT ................................................................................................ 13 I. SENTENCING JUDGES SHOULD BE PERMITTED TO AWARD CREDIT FOR CONVICTIONLESS TIME SERVED IN THEIR DISCRETION. ................................................................. -
Office of the Attorney General Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General Commonwealth of Massachusetts Maura Healey Attorney General Investigative Report Pursuant to Commonwealth v. Cotto, 471 Mass. 97 (2015) April 1, 2016 I. Introduction In April 2015, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) published its decision in Commonwealth v. Cotto, 471 Mass. 97 (2015), finding that it was “imperative that the Commonwealth thoroughly investigate the timing and scope of [Sonja] Farak's misconduct at the Amherst drug lab in order to remove the cloud that ha[d] been cast over the integrity of the work performed at that facility.” The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) undertook an investigation on behalf of the Commonwealth following the issuance of the SJC’s opinion. As part of the investigation, the AGO convened two grand juries and called as witnesses Sonja Farak (“Farak”) and three other chemists who worked in the state drug laboratories in Amherst (“Amherst Lab”) and elsewhere, and Nancy Brooks, a Massachusetts State Police (“MSP”) chemist who presently works for the two MSP drug labs which are accredited.1 In addition, AGO investigators interviewed Annie Dookhan, a former state chemist at the state’s Hinton Lab in Jamaica Plain2 who in 2013 was convicted on charges of misleading investigators, filing false reports, and tampering with drug evidence. This report is a summary of the AGO’s investigation. II. Background Leading Up to the Investigation. Farak was a chemist employed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (“DPH”) from July 2003 to July 2012 and by the MSP from July 2012 to January 2013. During the first year of her employment, she worked at the Hinton Lab in Jamaica Plain. -
IG Glenn Cunha to Take Over Drug Lab Review, November 5, 2012
IG Glenn Cunha to Take Over Drug Lab Review http://www.mass.gov/governor/pressoffice/pressreleases/2012/20121105... The Official Website of the Governor of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Home Press Office Press Releases IG Glenn Cunha to Take Over Drug Lab Review DEVAL PATRICK For Immediate Release - November 05, 2012 GOVERNOR TIM MURRAY GOVERNOR PATRICK ANNOUNCES INSPECTOR GENERAL GLENN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR CUNHA TO TAKE OVER DRUG LAB REVIEW Media Contact With support of prosecutors and defense bar leaders, Cunha will be responsible for Kim Haberlin independent review of Hinton drug lab practices and operations Bonnie McGilpin BOSTON – Monday, November 5, 2012 – Governor Deval Patrick today announced that Inspector General Glenn Cunha Mary-Leah Assad will take over the review of the Hinton Drug Laboratory’s operations from the Attorney General’s Office. The Governor 617-725-4025 called for an independent assessment of the drug lab to complement the ongoing criminal and central office investigations into chemist Annie Dookhan’s wrongdoing and to determine whether the lab’s failures are limited to Dookhan and her supervisors and managers, all of whom have been removed from their positions. "Inspector General Cunha brings the necessary independence and experience to the task and enjoys the support of both prosecutors and the defense bar,” said Governor Patrick. “I look forward to his findings.” “The integrity and credibility of the criminal justice system require a comprehensive and thorough review of the drug lab,” said Inspector General Cunha. “My office is prepared to conduct such a review and to that end, I have already begun to assemble an experienced team to examine the lab's operations, paying particular attention to its policies and procedures.” “The Massachusetts Bar Association applauds Governor Patrick for his quick and decisive action in appointing Inspector General Cunha to conduct an independent investigation of the drug lab,” said Martin Healy, Chief Legal Counsel to the Massachusetts Bar Association. -
Exhibit 1B (Boston Globe Log and Articles)
Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 686-3 Filed 12/01/14 Page 1 of 369 Exhibit 1b (Boston Globe log and articles) Case 1:13-cr-10200-GAO Document 686-3 Filed 12/01/14 Page 2 of 369 Boston Globe Articles Log & Breakdown 7/26/2014 – 11/15/2014 Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Index # Date Headline Page Type # of Short Pictures Side Section printed (S) bars pages 1 7/26/2014 Tsarnaev lawyers demand investigation 2 Boston of news leaks Globe 2 7/27/2014 Ted, Big Papi, and Yaz: That's now the A1 Commentary 3 S 1 Boston order of greatness in the Sox pantheon -- Globe so says Yaz 3 7/31/2014 Wondering where the time went C1 Commentary 3 S Boston Globe 4 8/1/2014 Activists say city's Trust Act falls short: 2 Boston Fear exemptions weaken measure Globe 5 8/1/2014 State's judiciary is a key piece of Patrick's 3 S Boston legacy Globe 6 8/2/2014 Sox fan since '60s has advice: Sit back, Letter to the 1 S Boston relax, enjoy Editor Globe 7 8/3/2014 Statisticians return to Boston, where the B1 3 S 1 Boston discipline took shape Globe 8 8/5/2014 Few preparations in event of Ebola in US: A1 3 2 Boston Unclear how to allot drugs, equipment Globe 9 8/5/2014 Shear enthusiasm B1 2 Boston Globe 10 8/7/2014 Tsarnaev friend in court in drug case 2 Boston Globe 11 8/8/2014 Tsarnaev lawyers target media 2 Boston Globe 12 8/8/2014 Satire & brimstone: 'God Hates Musicals' 4 1 Boston skewers the Westboro Baptist Church -- Globe with show tunes 13 8/10/2014 For this Kennedy, all politics is (for now) A1 7 1 Boston local: Late senator's son Ted finally Globe makes his move 14 8/13/2014 Patriots take the Ice Bucket Challenge 1 Boston Globe 15 8/15/2014 Tsarnaev defense seeking D.C. -
Pdfjune 2016 Segal Affidavit
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT SUFFOLK, ss. NO. SJ-2014-0005 KEVIN BRIDGEMAN, and others v. DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR THE SUFFOLK DISTRICT, and others Affidavit of Matthew R. Segal I, Matthew R. Segal, state as follows: 1. I am legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Massachusetts (ACLUM). 2. I submit this affidavit to provide the Court with documents concerning investigations of drug lab scandals involving Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak. These documents, in turn, contain information about the underlying misconduct. 3. ACLUM has participated in several cases concerning the Dookhan scandal. See Commonwealth v. Charles, 466 Mass. 63 (2013) (direct representation); Commonwealth v. Scott, 467 Mass. 336 (2014) (amicus participation); Bridgeman v. Dist. Atty. for the Suffolk Dist., 471 Mass. 465 (2015) (direct representation). 4. Since the Dookhan scandal was publicly disclosed in August 2012, ACLUM has fielded many calls and letters from people seeking information about -2- their rights as possible Dookhan or Farak defendants. The people making these queries often did not know what their rights were, or even whether Dookhan or Farak had in fact worked on their cases. 5. For nearly four years, ACLUM has also engaged in substantial non-litigation advocacy geared toward seeking a just and efficient approach to the Dookhan and Farak scandals. 6. For example, in October 2012 ACLUM joined with Families Against Mandatory Minimums to ask the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and county District Attorneys to embrace alternatives to case-by- case litigation of Dookhan cases. See Exhibit 1. 7. Also in October 2012, ACLUM joined with the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to request an independent investigation of the Hinton Lab. -
EXHIBIT 1 October 11, 2012
EXHIBIT 1 October 11, 2012 Via Email and First-Class Mail The Honorable Martha Coakley Attorney General of Massachusetts One Ashburton Place, 20th floor Boston, MA 02108 County District Attorneys (See below for full list) Re: The Hinton State Lab Scandal Dear Attorney General Coakley and County District Attorneys: The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM) and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) write concerning the crisis arising from misconduct at the Hinton State Laboratory. The Commonwealth's current plan for addressing the crisis-adjudicating countless cases one by one-threatens instead to worsen it. We urge you to chart a better course, one that will restore the Commonwealth's damaged reputation. The scandal will trigger an explosion of litigation. Chemist Annie Dookhan, who is accused of falsifYing tests of drug samples, is now associated with 34,000 cases. But Dookhan also allegedly forged signatures and had not-by-the-rulebook communications with prosecutors and police officers. So it is unclear how far this scandal will reach. It is clear, however, that tens of thousands of defendants could seek to vacate their convictions. Special courts have been constituted, and prosecutors estimate that a case-by-case approach will cost them $50 million. Defense and court costs figure to equal at least that much. That expenditure of time and money would be a waste of both. Abundant evidence shows that drug prosecutions fail to reduce overall drug use even in cases that do not involve tainted evidence. Accordingly, it makes no sense tore-prosecute tens of thousands of cases that do involve tainted evidence.