Court's ruling could toss thousands of drug convictions
Thousands of felony and misdemeanor drug convictions across Texas may be thrown out after the state's highest court ruled Wednesday that any case with evidence handled by a disgraced Department of Public Safety chemist is suspect.
The sweeping ruling is the latest chapter in a saga that began last year with an investigation into the shoddy work of forensic examiner Jonathan Salvador, who handled nearly 5,000 drug cases, including about 400 in Harris County, from 2006 to 2012.
"What it means is that any of the cases that Salvador was responsible for are suspect, and the courts will not respect those convictions, and they'll be overturned," said Alex Bunin, head of the Harris County Public Defender's Office. "In Harris County, it could be hundreds."
Bunin's office took on the responsibility of sorting through cases that could be affected by problems with Salvador's work and has notified dozens of defendants that they can challenge their convictions.
More at http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Court-s-ruling-could-toss-thousands-of-drug-4581096.php .
