sonja farak therapy notes sonja farak therapy notes

The staff in the new lab was also doubled, and the number of trainees was also increased. . As How to Fix a Drug Scandal explores, Farak had long struggled with her mental . In November 2013, Dookhan pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and perjury. Verner, who testified that he didn't "micromanage" Kaczmarek, escaped criticism. Farak worked under the influence of drugs for nine years - from 2004 to 2013 - before she was caught. The chemist, Sonja Farak, worked at the Amherst crime . When defense lawyers asked to see evidence for themselves, state prosecutors smeared them as pursuing a "fishing expedition.". She grew up in Portsmouth with her sister Amy. Farak was released from prison in 2015 and has kept a low profile since. But she worried they might be privileged as health information. Perhaps, as criminal justice scandals inevitably emerge, we need to get more independent eyes on the evidence from the start. "A forensic analyst responding to a request from a law enforcement official may feel pressureor have an incentiveto alter the evidence in a manner favorable to the prosecution.". The judge ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys to coordinate on identifying undisclosed emails related to documents seized from the disgraced state crime lab chemist. Maybe fatigue made them sloppy, or perhaps they actively chose to look the other way as evidence piled up about the enormity of Farak's crimes. Why did she do that and where has it left her? Release year: 2020. Without even interviewing Foster, they determined there was "no evidence" of obstruction of justice by her, by Kaczmarek, or by any state prosecutor. Faraks therapist, Anna Kogan, wrote in her notes that Farak was worried about Nikki finding out about her addiction as well as the possible legal issues if she were ever caught. 2. In a March 2013 email highlighted in the Velis-Merrigan report. Over time, Farak's drug use turned to cocaine, LSD and, eventually, crack. Investigators either missed or declined opportunities to dig very deep. There is nothing to indicate that the allegations against Farak date back to the time she tested the drugs in Penates case. Defense attorneys had. Sonja Farak (Netflix) An ex-lab chemist Sonja Farak's negligence and misdeeds shocked US when she was arrested in 2013 for stealing and using drugs from the lab where she worked. Below is an outline of her charges. The civil lawsuit was one of the last tied to prosecutors' disputed handling of the case against disgraced ex-chemist Sonja Farak, who was convicted in 2014 of ingesting drug samples she was. That motion was denied, and the notice letters will explain Farak's tampering without any mention of prosecutorial misconduct. In a rare move, the judicial office that brings disciplinary cases against lawyers in Massachusetts has accused a prosecutor of professional misconduct, including allegations that she failed to share critical information with defense lawyers and attempted to interfere with defense witnesses. From 2004 to 2013, Farak took advantage of . The new numbers appear in a report issued by a court-designated "Special Master." In the aftermath, the court felt it necessary to make clear that "no prosecutorhas the authority to decline to disclose exculpatory information.". The information showed that Farak sought therapy for drug addiction and that her misconduct had been ongoing for years. She started working shortly after for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in July 2003 until July 2012, and from July 2012 until January 2013 for the Massachusetts State Police when the lab fell under their jurisdiction. "he didn't request a warrant. "No reasonablejury could conclude that this evidence is not favorable.". Patrick appointed the state inspector general to look into it. ", Prosecutors nationwide pretty uniformly backed this argument, which the Supreme Court rejected in a 54 opinion. Terms Of Use, (Annie Dookhan (left) and Sonja Farak, Associated Press). Another worksheet had the month and weekdays for December 2011, which police easily could have determined by cross-referencing holidays or looking up a New England Patriots game mentioned in one entry. Biden Embraces the Fearmongering, Vows To Squash D.C.'s Mild Criminal Justice Reforms, The Flap Over Biden's Comment About 2 Fentanyl Deaths Obscures Prohibition's Role in Causing Them, Conservatives Turn Further Against WarExcept Maybe With Mexico. Even before her arrest, the Department of Public Health had launched an internal inquiry into how such misconduct had gone undetected for such a long time. It didnt matter whether or not she was the one who did the testing or some other chemist. T he day Sonja Farak's world unraveled - the day a crack pipe and sliced evidence bags of cocaine were found at her workstation - started like many others: she attended court. In the aftermath of Farak's arrest, it's been argued that because she was under the influence, all of the cases she tested could be considered to have been wrongfully convicted. A federal judge has rejected claims from an embattled former state prosecutor that she is protected from liability in the fallout over a Massachusetts drug lab scandal. Name. Its no big deal, 14-year-old Farak said to the Panama City News Herald. It declined Farak's offer of a detailed confession in exchange for leniency, nixing the offer without even negotiating terms. Maybe it's not a matter of checklists or reminders that prosecutors have to keep their eyes open for improprieties. ordered a report on the history of her illicit behavior. Instead, she submitted an intentionally vague letter to the judge claiming defense attorneys already had everything. This was not true, as Nassif's department later conceded. At this point, Farakunlike Dookhandidn't admit anything. As extensively detailed in How to Fix a Drug Scandal, Farak was arrested on January 19, 2013. Scalia may as well have been describing Dookhan. Inwardly though, Sonja Farak was striving. After her arrest, she received support from her parents, who showed up to her court appearances, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported. Nassif put Dookhan on desk duty but allowed her to finish testing cases already on her plate, including some of the samples she had taken from the locker. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); NEXT: Zoning Makes the Green New Deal Impossible. She consumed meth, crack cocaine, amphetamines, and LSD at the bench where she tested samples, in a lab bathroom, and even at courthouses where she was testifying. This story is an effort to reconstruct what was known about Farak and Dookhan's crimes, and when, based on court filings, diaries, and interviews with the major players. Dookhan's output remained implausibly high even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts (2009) that defendants were entitled to cross-examine forensic chemists about their analysis. She stopped the interview when asked about crack pipes found at her bench, and state police towed her car back to barracks while they waited on a warrant. According to a newspaper article from 1992, she was the first female in Rhode Island to be on a high school football team. Only a few months after Dookhan's conviction, it was discovered that another Massachusetts crime lab worker, Sonja Farak, who was addicted to drugs, not only stole her supply from the. Farak's reports were central to thousands of cases, and the fact that she ran analyses while high and regularly dipped into "urge-ful" samples casts doubt on thousands of convictions. Like Hinton, the Amherst lab had no cameras. She received an email from a detective weeks after Farak's arrest containing detailed notes Farak made in conjunction with her own drug treatment, pointedly identified as "FARAK Admissions" but failed to disclose them for years. Poetically, that landmark case originated from the Hinton lab, although Dookhan didn't conduct the analysis in question. In 2019, she was seen leaving the Springfield Federal Court but declined to comment on the status of the case. According to an Attorney General Offices report, Farak attended Temple University in Philadelphia for graduate school, which is where she became a recreational drug user. Sgt. Robertson rejected Kaczmarek's claims she should not be held responsible for the turning over of exculpatory evidence because she was not part of the "prosecution team" in Penate's case. Dookhan was now spending less time at her lab bench and more time testifying in court about her results. Due to the conviction, prosecutors were forced to dismiss more than . TherapyNotes. For people with disabilities needing assistance with the Public Files, contact Glenn Heath at 617-300-3268. The show also delves into the issues of the state in discovering and reporting on the extent of the cases that were affected by Faraks actions. Shortly into her role at Amherst, Farak decided to try liquid methamphetamine to ease her personal struggles. A final decision is still pending and must be approved by the state Supreme Judicial Court. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility at GBH, Transparency in Coverage Cost-Sharing Disclosures. GBH News brings you the stories, local voices, and big ideas that shape our world. a certification of drug samples in Penates case on Dec. 22, 2011. "It is critical that all parties have unquestioned faith in that process from the beginning so that they will have full confidence in the conclusions drawn at the end," Coakley said. When she got married, it turned out that her wife, too, suffered from her own demons, and their collective anguish made Sonja desperate for a reprieve from this life. State officials rushed to condemn her loudly and publicly. GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting. She started seeing a substance abuse therapist around this time. The premise revolves around documentary filmmaker Erin Lee Carr following the effects of crime drug lab chemists Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan and their tampering with evidence and its aftereffects.. Dookhan was accused of forging reports and tampering with samples to . According to a Rolling Stone piece on Farak, she struggled with depression from an early age, one that hasnt responded to medication. They wrote that Farak attempted suicide in high school and was also hospitalized while in college. ", In 2004, her first full year at the lab, Dookhan reported analyzing approximately 700 samples per month. "Going to use phentermine," she wrote on another, "but when I went to take it, I saw how little (v. little) there is left = ended up not using. Despite such unequivocal findings of misconduct, the court removed language about Kaczmarek and Foster from notification letters to those whose cases have been dismissed, which will be sent out in early 2019. After the Supreme Court's decision, a skeptical colleague started tracking how many microscope slides Dookhan used to test samples for cocaine. 3.3.2023 5:30 PM, Joe Lancaster Verner's "marching orders," he later testified, were to prosecute Farak with "what was in front of us, the car, things that were readily apparent. The surveillance of the chemists as well as the standards and the confiscated drugs has also been increased considerably. A Powerful EHR to Manage a Thriving Practice. Thanks to Farak's testimony and those diary worksheets, we now know that, soon after joining the Amherst lab in 2004, Farak started skimming from the methamphetamine "standard," an undiluted oil used as a reference against which suspected meth samples are compared. "Dookhan's consistently high testing volumes should have been a clear indication that a more thorough analysis and review of her work was needed," an internal review found. (Featured Image Credit: Mass Live). Farak. Over the next four years, Farak consumed nearly all of it. This is merely a fishing expedition, Foster wrote in | "It was almost like Dookhan wanted to get caught," one of her former co-workers told state police in 2012. Damning evidence reveals drug lab chemist Sonja Farak's addictions. Instead, Coakley's office served as gatekeeper to evidence that could have untangled the scandal and freed thousands of people from prison and jail years earlier, or at least wiped their improper convictions off the books. Out of "an abundance of caution," Kaczmarek didn't present them to the grand jury that was convened to determine whether to indict Farak. Introduction. What Did Sonja Farak Do, Exactly? YouTube "The need to inform defendants of government misconduct does not disappear when that misconduct was committed by a government lawyer as opposed to a government chemist.". wrote to the Attorney Generals Office two days later. His report deemed Dookhan the "sole bad actor" at the lab, a finding that remains disputed in some circles. Yet state prosecutors withheld Farak's handwritten notes about her drug use, theft, and evidence tampering from defense attorneys and a judge for more than a year. The report Earlier that day, a chemist at the Amherst drug lab had tracked two samples that were missing from the evidence locker to Sonja Farak's bench. Sonja Farak stole, ingested or manufactured drugs almost every day for eight years while working as a chemist at a state lab in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Board of Bar Overseers (BBO) is reviewing the actions of three prosecutors in the investigation of the scandal to determine whether any of them deliberately withheld potentially exculpatory evidence. Her access to evidence was not restricted, and she continued testifying in court. We couldn't do it without you. Judge Kinder denied Ryans motion. And when the tests she did run came back negative, Dookhan added controlled substances to the vials. Farak was a former lab chemist at a lab in Amherst, Massachusetts and was convicted of stealing and using drugs from the lab where she worked. The state and attorneys for some of the defendants agreed to a $14 million settlement to reimburse 31,000 defendants for post conviction-related costs, such as probation and parole fees, drug analysis and GPS monitoring. One reason that didn't happen, he says: "the determination Coakley and her team made the morning after Farak's arrest that her misconduct did not affect the due process rights of any Farak defendants." According to her teammates, She was the best center in the league last year, and they [felt] stronger with her in there than with some guys.. Or she just lied about her results altogether: In one of the more ludicrous cases, she testified under oath that a chunk of cashew was crack cocaine. chemist, Sonja Farak, had been battling drug addiction and had tampered with samples she was assigned to test around the time she tested the samples in Penate's case. Both scandals undercut confidence in the criminal justice system and the validity of forensic analysis. The number is 888-999-2881. wrote she "tried to resist using @ work, but ended up failing." Netflix's latest true-crime series, How to Fix a Drug Scandal, dives deep into a shocking Massachusetts scandal, one that started in the humble confines of an underfunded drug testing lab and ended with an entire system in question. Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to stealing samples of drugs from an Amherst drug lab. "As the gatekeeper to this evidence, she failed to turn over documents, and she adamantly opposed the requests for access. To multiple courts' amazement, her incessant drug use never caught the attention of her co-workers. Our posture is to not delve into the twists and turns of the investigation or the report and to let it stand on its own, Merrigan said. Gainey added that Healey is pleased with their conclusion that prosecutors and the state police acted appropriately. She was trying to suppress mental health issues, depression in specific, and she attempted to kill herself in high school, according to Rolling Stone. At least 11,000 cases have already been dismissed due to fallout from the scandal, with thousands more likely to come. Farak signed a certification of drug samples in Penate's case on Dec. 22, 2011. The Amherst lab had called state police when the two missing samples were noticed in 2013. A status hearing on Penate's suit, which was filed in 2017, is scheduled for July. On another worksheet chronicling her struggle not to use, she described 12 of the next 13 samples assigned to her for testing as "urge-ful.". Farak had started taking drugs on the job within months of joining the Amherst lab in 2004. Reporting for this story was supported by the Fund for Investigative Journalism. 1. Together, we can create a more connected and informed world. At some point, the attorney general's office stopped chasing leads entirely. The court also dismissed all meth cases processed at the lab since Farak started in 2004. Penate and other defendants are asking see all of Fosters emails regarding Farak and other materials relating to the handling of evidence in the chemist's case. Two weeks after Ryans discovery, the Attorney Generals Office Where Is Sonja Farak Now? After graduating from Portsmouth High School, Farak attended the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she got a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry in 2000. After Faraks arrest in 2013, police found pages of mental health worksheets in her car indicating she'd struggled with drug addiction since at least 2011. Between Farak and Dookhanwho's also featured in How to Fix a Drug Scandal38,000 wrongfully convicted cases have been dismissed, according to the Washington Post. Obviously, after a blunder of such scale, no one would want their samples checked from the same lab. The story of the intertwining Farak and Penate evidence began in January 2013, when state police arrested Farak and searched her car. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2015by which time the current state attorney general, Maura Healey, had been electedthat it was "imperative" for the government to "thoroughly investigate the timing and scope of Farak's misconduct." She's no longer in prison, as Farak has served her sentence. Carr weaves Farak's story into that of another Massachusetts chemist, Annie Dookhan, who worked across the state at the Hinton drug lab in Boston. It contained substances often used to make counterfeit cocaine, including soap, baking soda, candle wax, and modeling clay, plus lab dishes, wax paper, and fragments of a crack pipe. It features the true story of Sonja Farak, a former state drug lab chemist in Massachusetts who was arrested in 2013 for consuming the drugs she was supposed to test and tampering with the evidence to cover up her tracks. Farak worked for the Amherst Drug Lab in Massachusetts for 9 years when she was convicted of stealing and using them. Powered by. Since then, she has kept a low profile. According to the notes, Farak thought it gave her energy, helped her to get things done and not procrastinate, feel more positive., Her partner Nikki Lee testified before a grand jury that she herself had tried cocaine, that she had observed Farak using cocaine in 2000, and that she had marijuana in her house when police officers arrived to search the premises as part of their investigation of Farak., In Faraks testimony during a grand jury investigation, she said that she became a recreational drug user during graduate school and used cocaine, marihuana, and ecstasy. She also said she used heroin one time and was nervous and sick and hated every minute of it [and had] no desire to use [it] again., Farak met and settled down with Nikki Lee in her 20s. The case of Rolando Penate has become a leading example for lawyers calling for further investigation into alleged misconduct by prosecutors who handled documents seized from Sonja Farak, the Amherst crime-lab chemist convicted of stealing and tampering with drug samples. Such strong claims were too hasty at best, since investigators had not yet finished basic searches; three days later, police executed a warrant for a duffel bag they found stuffed behind Farak's desk. Farak struggled with mental health throughout her life, the documentary series explains. Listen Live: Classic and Contemporary Celtic, Listen Live: Cape, Coast and Islands NPR Station, Boston nonprofit Street2Ivy is producing this generation's entrepreneurs.