The Boston Bar Association filed an amicus brief in this, the fourth case related to the actions of Hinton Drug Laboratory chemist Annie Dookhan, who tainted evidence in thousands of drug cases. Our brief argues for a global solution that the Court should vacate, without prejudice, the adverse disposition on all drug related charges where Dookhan was the primary or secondary chemist, but that the Commonwealth should be granted a period of at least one year, or longer as the Court deems appropriate, to allow the District Attorneys to re-prosecute individual charges. Any charges not re-prosecuted within that time period should be automatically dismissed with prejudice and further prosecution barred.
This solution places the burden on the Commonwealth, rather than on Dookhan defendants, in addressing the adverse disposition affected by Dookhan’s misconduct. It is based in principles central to the BBA’s mission – access to justice and the fair administration of justice. Read more about the history of cases related to the Dookhan scandal and our brief here.
