Massachusetts Collaborative Review of Cases Involving Hair and Serological Analysis

The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Innocence Program, Boston Police Forensic Division and Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory seek to expand their existing hair review project to include cases from 1970-1980 and to identify all cases from 1970-2000 in which serology was used to secure a murder conviction. These forensic methods have produced wrongful convictions premised on overstated or invalid forensic associations that were later disproved by DNA testing. This project seeks to identify cases in which DNA testing has the potential to establish factual innocence, and to improve reentry support. It will enable the partners to collaborate on case identification and evidence location efforts and allow CPCS to identify cases in which DNA testing is warranted. The labs require funds to support overtime compensation for employees with an understanding of internal evidence storage and tracking systems and technical expertise regarding the types of forensic analyses performed in each case. CPCS requires staffing to: (a) determine which of the cases from the labs resulted in a conviction; (b) locate transcripts and case files; (c) evaluate cases to determine whether hair or serology evidence was material to the conviction and if DNA testing could support innocence; and (d) establish and train a panel of lawyers to navigate the DNA testing process and conduct any related litigation. CPCS also seeks staffing to ensure more consistent access to qualified attorneys by defendants seeking post-conviction DNA testing in cases arising out of this project, through court referrals, and through direct applications to CPCS. In 2012, Massachusetts passed its first forensic testing-based innocence law (Chapter 278A) which created an easier process for defendants to access post-conviction DNA testing. Since then, the demand for post-conviction DNA testing has significantly outpaced the availability of attorneys with the requisite scientific expertise and litigation skills to litigate these cases, leading to increasingly long wait times and a proliferation of pro se litigation. This project would remedy this problem by establishing CPCS's first in-house Chapter 278A practice through the addition of a rotation attorney from the trial public defender division of CPCS. Grant funding would also support recruitment efforts and training of experienced trial lawyers to establish a Chapter 278A panel within the private counsel division of CPCS to support DNA testing cases identified by this project, as well as augment support of reentry needs.