Federal Judge Awards $2M In Dookhan Wrongful Conviction Case

Another legal twist in the case of former state drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan, whose history of falsifying evidence eventually led to the dismissal of more than 21,000 cases in Massachusetts.

A federal judge has awarded more than $2 million to a man wrongly convicted based on evidence tainted by Dookhan. The Boston Globe reports that Leonardo Johnson was arrested for selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer, when it was actually a piece of nut. He served two years in prison after Dookhan testified there was cocaine in the sample.

Dookhan has 30 days to appeal the award.

Brian Kelly, government investigations and white collar defense partner in the Boston office of Nixon Peabody, which tweets @nixonpeabodyllp.