Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Annie Dookhan: Massachusetts; End Game: (White Elephant case); NBC story reflects a drug lab scandal of unprecedented magnitude..."The reliance on forensic science in the criminal justice system has improved policing and prosecutions, but the misuse of science has also fueled wrongful convictions, researchers say. Drug labs play a distinct role in that machinery. Lab scandals have undermined thousands of convictions in eight states in the past decade, according to data maintained by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Critics say forensic chemists feel a duty to help prosecutors rather than remain neutral. And they point out that many labs — including Hinton when Dookhan worked there — lack professional accreditation or proper protocols to prevent and detect misconduct. Some of her superiors have lost their jobs for failing to notice or report her misdeeds. "This drug lab scandal is another example of why the criminal justice system needs to reform its approach to forensic science," said Dan Gelb, a Boston attorney who helped write an amicus brief on the Dookhan case for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "Labs shouldn't be an extension of law enforcement."



Image result for "white elephant"

In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison.  I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009; http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's absolutely stunning. I have never seen anything like it....It's unbelievable to me that it could have even happened. And then when you look at the scope of the number of cases that may be dismissed or vacated, there are no words for it."

SUZANNE BELL:  Professor at West Virginia University who serves on the National Commission of Forensic Science.

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SECOND QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"It's a soup-to-nuts indictment of the war on drugs...These scandals happen around the country because our war on drugs is based on cutting corners."

MATTHEW SEGAL: Legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, whose lawsuit led to the supreme court's ruling.

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THIRD QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"This drug lab scandal is another example of why the criminal justice system needs to reform its approach to forensic science.  Labs shouldn't be an extension of law enforcement."

 DAN GELB: Boston attorney who helped write an amicus brief on the Dookhan case for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

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STORY: "‘Stunning’ Drug Lab Scandal Could Overturn 23,000 Convictions,"