Special courts are being established to handle the wave of criminal cases that could be reopened by the actions of a state chemist who admitted altering drug test results and forging colleagues’ initials at a Jamaica Plain laboratory.
Robert Mulligan, chief justice of the state trial court, pledged Thursday to use every possible resource to make sure the cases — expected to number in the thousands — are dealt with expeditiously. The business hours of courts may need to be extended because of the sheer number of cases, Mulligan said.
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The additional funds needed should not be borne by taxpayers rather out of Patrick's own pocket due to gross negligence on his part.
This issue of tainted drug cases is a matter for the state Attorney General, the U.S. Attorney, the courts and various police agencies. Why does the Chicago hack that occupies the State House corner office keep popping up with improper comments such as the ones he made on Sept. 27 about a woman chemist who is being frequently cited as possibly responsible for mishandling of narcotics evidence in various criminal cases while she worked at the state Public Health Department laboratory used to test illegal drugs? The governor may be a lawyer, but he has no reason to be involved publicly in the on-going efforts to solve the seemingly difficult problems stemming from the mishandled evidence. The governor and any state legislators do have significant roles to play in finding funds and enacting any new statutes needed to solve this mess. Let the governor go wandering to Wyoming and south Texas to pander to voters on behalf of his Chicago hack buddy in the White House.
One more thing... no charges, no indictment, no known pending Grand Jury appearance, no trial dates, no arrest, no public annoucement whether an arrest or charges are imminent. Has the Boston Globe's editor assigned Andrea Estes and Travis Anderson to lead the lynch mob that is gathering to deal with Annie Dookhan, the accused chemist?
Scott Sugarman, a San Francisco criminal lawyer, said that several of his clients had cases dismissed because of the scandal, and that he and other lawyers were stunned by Madden’s alleged actions.
“The public and defense lawyers kind of assumed that the scientific part of police agencies and prosecutions are sort of neutral and have integrity to them. And, unfortunately, it told us that even something as simple as testing drugs doesn’t [always], unfortunately, and we can’t take it for granted,” Sugarman said.
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So, clearly, Mr. Sugarman thinks that Human Nature has been repealed and Checks and Balances are needed only in Your Father's America. I wonder if he also believes that housing always goes up? It's hard to believe that Mr. Sugarman is not simply being defensive because he has relied on drug testing results (ie, he is an prosecuting criminal lawyer, not a defense lawyer).
It looks to me that the Patrick Administration is handling the situation as well as could be expected so far.
“I can’t stress enough that in my opinion, this is a rare, rare exception in labs across the country,” said Burns, a former district attorney in Utah who also served as deputy drug czar in the White House during George W. Bush’s administration.
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In other words, what Mr. Burns is saying is that he IS NOT AWARE of many cases where drug testing results have been manipulated. In other words, he wants people to believe that drug testing is accurate. But, if check and balances on drug testing have not been in effect, and if drug tests are never validated through a double blind retest, and if there is little oversight, and if there usually are no investigations, then Mr. Burns' opinion is not worth much. But, then again, I think the Bush Administration could not stress enough that Global Warming was a figment, also -- perhaps based on the same type of certainty of opinion?
This is a systemic failure. How many of her superivisors were political appointees? Maybe competence should come before nepotism all the way up the chain.
This is waht happens when the governor is not staying home.
cbstein wrote, "This is a systemic failure. How many of her superivisors were political appointees? Maybe competence should come before nepotism all the way up the chain."
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You can't just hire "good people" and then hope for the best, you have to validate that details are being handled correctly, and this has to go all the way up to the top.
NativeBos wrote, "This is waht happens when the governor is not staying home."
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I know there is a group with an agenda to have the Governor always be in the state. This is very simply, a silly, counterproductive idea. And, may I say, obviously so.
It certainly is "a systemic failure." The Governor & his administration are no longer blaming the actions of a 'rogue chemist.' Their claim was sheer nonsense.
The catastrophic event is an accumulation of years of poor hiring practices; incompetent superivisors; lack of administrative policies & procedures; and lack of quality assurance & performance improvement.
Who is responsible for approving Accreditation for the State Laboratory? Is it another state agency??
Rest assured that if this was a private sector melt down like the one that happened last winter with National Grid, where the CEO of that entity was (rightly) rippped apart, the governor and other political leaders would be lined up in front of TV cameras all day long saying how outraged they are and calling for resignations and hearings.
The governor's executive management skills are open to legitimate questions. There are holes in his administrative governance process that enabled this oversight to snowball into a major problem. What procedures does he have in place to ensure departments under his direct control are working properly? Contrary to what some may think, It's not aways about politics. Once in a while competence does matter.
And speaking of millions, why is there no talk about compensating these wrongfully convicted people
with some real money.
Hear the thunder of footsteps coming over the horizon??????? The sound alone is generating "the talk" that will cost us very, very big compensation.
The governor's executive management skills are open to legitimate questions. There are holes in his administrative governance process that enabled this oversight to snowball into a major problem. What procedures does he have in place to ensure departments under his direct control are working properly?
Patrick, like other MA governors, has not shown an affinity for the details of being the state's executive officer. His past blunders such as having the house slam gaming down our throats, allowing the MBTA to award contracts to unproven suppliers, the unexplained midnight ride of Tim Murray and a community college run amoke shrink in comparison to this debacle.
This strikes at the very core of the rule of law upon which our society is based. He allowed that to erode on his watch. He is a nice guy, intelligent, very charming and wonderful family man. But he is a lousy executive. Contrary to what some may think, It's not aways about politics. Once in a while competence does matter