In honor of Wrongful Conviction Day (Oct. 2), Attorney Wood and Boston College Prof. Charlotte Whitmore went to Concord Academy with their client Omar to share his story with a group of students. It was a very popular event!
Fast Action Secures New Trial and Preserves Professional License
In August 2019, Attorney Wood secured the rapid reversal of a criminal conviction after just four months for a client who was working in the U.S. in a medical profession on a H1B visa and was fired as a result of the charge. This victory allows the client to remain in the U.S., maintain his license, and regain professional employment.
GPS Removed for Client Awaiting Retrial on Murder Charges
On September 16, 2019, Attorney Wood convinced the Hampden Superior Court to remove a GPS monitoring bracelet for his client “Omar,” while the District Attorney decides whether or not to retry him for a murder that he adamantly denies. In April 2019, Attorney Wood secured a reversal of Omar's conviction and his immediate release after 19 years in prison.
Associate Attorney Position
Associate attorney position available with Wood & Nathanson, LLP a small law firm concentrating on criminal defense. Located in downtown Boston, Wood & Nathanson’s primary focus is appellate criminal defense. Our practice also includes significant trial litigation. Our firm practices in the Massachusetts state and federal courts. A large portion of our practice involves the defense of homicide charges.
Attorney Post in the Boston Globe on Sonja Farak / Hinton Scandal
Attorney Christopher Post was quoted in today's Boston Globe regarding the Hinton Drug Lab scandal. The Inspector General essentially ignored or underplayed the misconduct of Sonja Farak while she was at Hinton, but she appears to have been worse than Annie Dookhan.
“Attorney Christoper Post ... said the number of drugs she analyzed should have been a red flag for the inspector general...she analyzed more drugs than anyone in the history of the lab 'It’s hard to see how they couldn’t have spotted it.'”
Ten Year Reduction of "Habitual Offender" Sentence
Recently, Attorney Jellison successfully shortened a client's cumulative 30 year sentence by ten years, moving his first parole date up by five years. This client was convicted of two non-violent property-based crimes in the space of six months. Middlesex County tried those cases separately and sought “habitual offender” indictments in both cases. The second trial judge ran the client's mandatory maximum sentences consecutively, leading to a cumulative 30 year sentence. Without the habitual offender statute, guidelines would suggest no more than 6 years of incarceration. Three strikes laws are draconian, and should be examined and abandoned in Massachusetts. It is all too easy for black and brown people who have struggled with poverty and addiction over a lifetime to qualify for devastating and disproportionate sentences. The Appellate Division of the Superior Court provided all relief possible after reviewing the client's offense, age, and current medical condition.
Attorney Jellison elected to LGTBQ Bar Association Board of Directors
Defendant Never Told of Negative Drug Testing
Atty. Christopher Post also won a new trial and then dismissal for a defendant who was never told that the “drugs” he was convicted of possessing tested negative at the Hinton lab. Police had stopped him, tackled him, and claimed they found crack cocaine. He was subsequently charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine in a school zone. He pleaded guilty quickly to avoid the mandatory minimum school zone charge. While he was serving his sentence, testing at Hinton proved the substance was not drugs, just as he had claimed, but no one ever told him and continued serving his sentence. After the Dookhan and Farak scandals, Atty. Post helped identify similarly situated individuals while at the C.P.C.S. Drug Lab Crisis Litigation Unit. It appears there may be more than 300 similarly situated defendants.
Drug Lab Fallout Continues
The Massachusetts drug lab scandal is by no means over. None of the prior cases decided by the SJC dealt with the fact that disgraced chemist Sonja Farak worked at the Boston-area Hinton drug lab before she was caught stealing drugs and faking results at the Amherst drug lab. Atty. Christopher Post recently won a new trial and dismissal of charges where he showed that Farak’s volume of testing at Hinton at times surpassed Annie Dookhan’s, who was only able to achieve such results through fraud. He also showed that Farak made statements that suggest drug use while she was at the Hinton lab.
A Win Against the Jailing of Children
On May 16, 2018, the Supreme Judicial Court adopted the arguments of Attorney Jellison in Commonwealth v. Lazlo L., ruling that continued prosecution of eleven year old children is repugnant to the purposes of the legislature in enacting criminal justice reforms limiting such prosecutions. The prosecution of children is not just cruel, it is empirically bad policy. The prosecution of children has been demonstrated to increase the likelihood of later criminal justice involvement. Further, children this young are precisely those people who are most likely to mature and change. Children should be treated as children.
Amicus Brief: Not Guilty of Accessory to Murder
On May 1, 2019, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered a not guilty verdict for a defendant charged with accessory to murder. On behalf of MACDL and CPCS, Attorney Jellison authored an amicus brief in support of the defendant who was represented by Attorney Jin Ho King of MRDK Law. The witness refused give a phone number, which he had a right to do, and gave evasive answers. He was just scared and wanted to distance himself. The SJC adopted our argument that he didn't provide the killer with a defense or mislead police.
Omar Released: 19 Years to Vindication
This week, after a 15 year fight, Attorney Wood finally achieved victory in the single most gut-wrenching case of his 25 year career. The Hampden Superior Court vacated the murder conviction of his client Omar and immediately released him into the loving arms of his family. Click here to read the story.
DNA Testing for People on Sex Offender Registry
Attorney Shih just filed a brief on behalf of the Boston Bar Association arguing that people required to register as sex offenders should be permitted to ask for DNA testing to prove their innocence. SORB registration is a significant restraint on liberty and gives them standing to request testing. Read the brief here.
A Busy Few Months
Title IX Proceedings Avoided
In February 2019, thanks to Attorney Wood's quick intervention, a Boston area university agreed to lift a temporary suspension and not to initiate Title IX proceedings against his client, a college senior in the U.S. on a student visa who had been charged with a misdemeanor in a local court. This decision allows the client to graduate on time.
Drug "Expert" Excluded, Drug Charges Dismissed
In January 2019, Attorney Wood, assisted by Attorney Jellison, successfully convinced a trial court to dismiss felony drug distribution charges against a client prior to trial by proving that the Commonwealth had allowed the destruction of relevant evidence and that the Commonwealth's so-called "drug expert" was not qualified to given an opinion and therefore his testimony would be excluded.
New Blog Post on Michelle Carter Decision
Wood & Nathanson’s Eva Jellison filed an amicus brief on behalf of CPCS and MACDL in the Michelle Carter “manslaughter by texting” case. In it, she argued for the application of a reasonable juvenile standard whenever the criminal law imposes a “reasonable person” standard on juveniles. The SJC avoided deciding the question. Read our analysis here in our new blog post.
SJC Avoids Adopting "Reasonable Juvenile" Standard
n Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter, the Supreme Judicial Court declined to decide whether all legal standards involving a "reasonable person" should be applied against children by assessing what a reasonable juvenile of the same age would have done in the same circumstances. Trial attorneys should continue to request a reasonable juvenile instruction in any appropriate case and in bench trials should argue for the judge to apply a reasonable juvenile standard in closing. Given what we know about those age 18-25, trial attorneys should also consider asking for a reasonable person of the same age instruction and putting in an expert to explain brain science in the emerging adult population.
Office Manager / Paralegal Position
Job opening: Part-time office manager.
Wood & Nathanson, LLP is seeking a part-time office manager / paralegal. We are a criminal defense firm. Responsibilities include general office duties, record keeping, data entry, filing, correspondence, some interaction with courts and clients. Qualified candidates may also be given research and writing projects.
12-15 hours/week. $18/hour.
Send resume to David Nathanson.
Chris Post to receive MACDL President's Award
We are excited and proud to announce that Attorney Chris Post will be receiving the President’s Award from the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. MACDL will be recognizing Attorney Post along with nine other attorneys who were instrumental in the SJC’s recent decision to vacate thousands of drug convictions tainted by the misconduct of chemist Sonia Farak.