|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
|
Years Imprisoned: |
|
Year Crime: |
|
Year Convicted: |
|
Year Cleared: |
2017 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Massachusetts |
County or Region of Crime: |
Essex |
City of Crime: |
|
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Jose A. Martinez was wrongly convicted of drug possession in Essex County, Massachusetts. After his conviction was vacated due to insufficient evidence by post-conviction exculusion of the trial court evidence by lab technician Annie Dookhan upon which his conviction was based, Martinez filed a petition Direct Appellate Review by the Mass. Sup. Judicial Ct. of his claim for refund of approximately $3,000 in court costs he paid which was predicated upon his conviction ... which no longer existed. On February 14, 2018 The Mass. Sup. Judicial Ct. accepted review of the case. If Martinez prevails then all of the more than 21,000 people whose conviction was overturned due to insufficient evidence after the discovery of Dookhan's misconduct could seek a refund of all their court costs. On April 19, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the vacatur and dismissal of 21,587 drug related convictions under Massachusetts G.L. Chapter. 94C (Controlled Substances Act) that were based on a "Drug Certificate" provided by Annie Dookhan, who worked as a chemist at the Hinton State Laboratory from 2003 to 2012 -- although she ceased handling new cases in 2011. On June 9, 2017 the SJC "ORDERED that the date for entry of the vacatur and dismissal with prejudice of the convictions and dispositions and the date for entry of the recall of the outstanding warrants referenced in the amended declaratory judgment, shall be April 19, 2017, the date of the original declaratory judgment." (Gaziano, J.)" (Kevin Bridgeman et al v. Dist Attorney for the Suffolk Dist. et al, No. SJ-2014-0005 (Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, 6-9-17) (Order)) The cases were in seven Massachusetts counties: Suffolk; Essex; Plymouth; Bristol; Norfolk; Middlesex; and, Cape & Islands. On May 22, 2017 the SJC issued an Order related to the possibly more than 18,000 people convicted on the basis of a Drug Certificate signed by Dookhan, who didn't have their conviction vacated and the charges dismissed as a result of hte April 19, 2017 order: "It is hereby ORDERED that: Any individual who establishes that he or she: (1)qualifies as a relevant Dookhan defendant, meaning an individual convicted of a G. L. c. 94C drug offense in whose case Dookhan signed the drug certificate on the line labeled Assistant Analyst before the individual's guilty plea or admission to sufficient facts to warrant a guilty finding, or before his or her trial, see Bridgeman v. District Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 476 Mass. 298, 306 & n.8 (2017)(Bridgeman II); (2) so qualifies in relation to a conviction, admission to sufficient facts, continuance without a finding, or other adverse disposition that is not listed in any Letter 2 or Letter 3 lists submitted to this Court by a District Attorney on April 18, 2017, pursuant to Bridgeman II, 476 Mass. at 327; and (3) has not previously had a Dookhan-based motion to vacate the qualifying adverse disposition adjudicated on the merits, may file a motion in the appropriate court to vacate the same. Such an individual shall be entitled to a presumption of vacatur and dismissal with prejudice of the qualifying adverse disposition, which presumption may be rebutted by the Commonwealth upon a showing of compelling circumstances to excuse the omission of such qualifying disposition from any of the submitted Letter 2 or Letter 3 lists." (Kevin Bridgeman et al v. Dist Attorney for the Suffolk Dist. et al, No. SJ-2014-0005 (Mass. Supreme Judicial Court, 5-22-17) (Order)) As of November 30, 2017, 21,839 convictions of a 'Dookhan defendant' had been vacated. Dookhan was arrested on September 28, 2012 and charged with obstruction of justice and falsification of academic records. On December 17, 2012 Dookhan was arraigned on 27 charges related to her conduct at the lab: 17 counts of obstruction of justice, eight counts of tampering with evidence, and one count each of perjury and falsification of records. Dookhan agreed to a plea deal. On November 22, 2013 Suffolk Superior Court Judge Carol S. Ball sentenced Dookhan to three to five years imprisonment and two years probation. Dookhan was granted parole and released in April 2016, after two years and six months imprisonment. 15,570 of the dismissed Dookhan cases were in Suffolk County." |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 19, 2017 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissal of 21,587 drug related convictions under Massachusetts G.L. Chapter. 94C (Controlled Substances Act) that were based on a "Drug Certificate" provided by Annie Dookhan," |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
|
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
|
Age When Released: |
|
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Hispanic |
Information Source 1: |
"Drug lab scandal: SJC to decide if defendants get money back, By Bob McGovern, Boston Herald, February 23, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2018/02/drug_lab_scandal_sjc_to_decide_if_defendants_get_money_back |
Information Source 2: |
"Commonwealth vs. Jose A. Martinez, No. SJC-12479 (Mass. Sup. Judicial Ct.) (Case transferred to SJC from Mass. Ct. of Appeals effective Feb. 15, 2018)" |
Information Location 2: |
http://ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?src=party&dno=SJC-12479 |
Information Source 3: |
|
Information Location 3: |
|
Information Source 4: |
|
Information Location 4: |
|
Information Source 5: |
|
Information Location 5: |
|
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org