Massachusetts high court to examine drug lab misconduct case

BOSTON – Massachusetts’ top court will examine a case sparked by the misconduct of a former chemist who authorities say was high almost every day she worked at a state drug lab for eight years.

Prosecutors already have agreed to dismiss about 8,000 convictions tainted by Sonja Farak, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to stealing drugs from the lab.

The Supreme Judicial Court will now decide whether prosecutors have to dismiss additional cases tied to Farak. The court also will consider whether all cases that passed through the drug lab during Farak’s employment should be re-examined, even if she didn’t work on them.

Farak’s case is separate from another Massachusetts drug lab scandal that resulted in the dismissal of some 21,000 convictions last year.