News
Thousands Of Drug Convictions At Stake In Massachusetts High Court Case
By January 8, 2015The case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court involves Annie Dookhan, a drug lab chemist who was sentenced in 2013 to at least three years in prison after admitting she faked test results.
SJC To Hear Petition To Dismiss Convictions Tied To Dookhan
By WBUR Newsroom October 23, 2014The ACLU is asking the state’s highest court to dismiss tens of thousands of criminal convictions tied to former state chemist Annie Dookhan, who admitted to tampering with evidence.
SJC Sets ‘Presumption’ Of Misconduct In Dookhan-Related Guilty Pleas
By March 5, 2014The Supreme Judicial Court ruled Wednesday that defendants seeking to withdraw guilty pleas because their cases were handled by disgraced former state chemist Annie Dookhan must indicate they would have insisted on a trial if they knew about her malfeasance.
Dookhan Was Drug Lab’s ‘Sole Bad Actor,’ Report Says
By Deborah Becker March 4, 2014“However … deficiencies at the Drug Lab created an atmosphere that allowed for [Annie] Dookhan to commit her crimes,” the state inspector general wrote in his review.
Boston Doctor Chosen For New National Effort To Reform Forensic Testing
By Deborah Becker and Lynn Jolicoeur February 21, 2014With the Massachusetts Inspector General expected to release his report on the state drug lab crisis any day now, a local doctor is part of a new national effort to reform forensic testing.
How Mass. Should Deal With Convictions Affected By Dookhan
By Deborah Becker January 10, 2014Matt Segal of the Massachusetts ACLU discusses the criminal cases that linger as the state investigates the drug lab scandal.
ACLU Asks Mass. High Court For ‘Comprehensive Remedy’ For Drug Lab Cases
By Deborah Becker January 9, 2014The court is again being asked for guidance on how to deal with criminal convictions thrown into question by the state drug lab crisis.
Forensic Testing A Problem In Several States
By Deborah Becker December 31, 2013Congress could take up legislation in 2014 aimed at improving oversight of the nation’s crime labs. Critics say lawmakers need to take action after several lab scandals.
Reviewing The Annie Dookhan Drug Lab Crisis
By Deborah Becker December 26, 2013WBUR’s Deborah Becker, who has been reporting on the drug lab scandal all year, looks back on the case and at the unresolved legal ramifications of chemist Annie Dookhan’s actions.
Dookhan’s Lawyer: She Had A ‘Lapse In Judgment’
By Deborah Becker November 29, 2013Convicted former chemist Annie Dookhan has never spoken publicly about the drug lab crisis. We speak with her lawyer, now that she’s in prison.
