Drug Cases Tainted by Disgraced Chemist Expected To Be Dismissed

BOSTON, MA -- More than 20,000 drug cases handled by disgraced former state chemist Annie Dookhan may be dismissed today after a decision by the state's highest court that forced district attorney across the state to toss tainted cases.

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union expect that roughly 20,000 or more cases will be set for dismissal today by prosecutors, the Boston Herald reports.

The ACLU, the state public defender’s office and private defense attorneys have argued in favor of a mass dismissal since the scandal came to light.

The state Supreme Judicial Court in January gave prosecutors until today to list all of the convictions they want to dismiss.

For any remaining cases, district attorneys are required to certify in a letter that they can and will produce evidence — not handled by Dookhan — that could secure a guilty verdict if they are forced to go to trial again, according to the Herald.

When the SJC issued its decision, there were estimates that 24,000 cases may have been corrupted by Dookhan.

In a scandal that shook the court system and forced the closure of the Hinton State Lab in Jamaica Plain, Dookhan, a state chemist, admitted to falsifying drug certifications to help a love interest - a prosecutor - win cases.

When the scandal was revealed it called into question all cases Dookhan was listed as the primary or secondary chemist. That number was estimated at around 24,000.

While SJC Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote in the decision that prosecutors have the discretion of which cases should be dismissed district attorneys could not re-prosecute the flood of small-time drug offenses.

Courtesy photo of Annie Dookhan by WCVB.com