Travesty of Justice: Massachusetts Drug War Collapses on Lab Scandal

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute senior legal fellow Jim McKenna about Massachusetts’ drug prosecution cases resting on evidence produced by badly mismanaged drug testing labs, and the implications for potentially hundreds of thousands convicted on erroneous, tainted, or fabricated evidence.

Guest:

Jim McKenna is Senior Fellow with PioneerLegal. He has been an Adjunct Teaching Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for more than 25 years, where he teaches courses on law and ethics. After serving as a prosecutor for a decade, including in the Organized Crime Division of the Suffolk County (Boston) District Attorney’s Office, McKenna has been in private practice for more than two decades. He lives in Millbury, Massachusetts, where he serves as Town Moderator. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and Boston College Law School.

Get new episodes of Hubwonk in your inbox!

Recent Episodes

Grading Education in a Pandemic: Survey Finds Teachers Pass, Administrations Fail & Students Incomplete

This week on Hubwonk, Joe Selvaggi discusses a recently released survey from Pioneer Institute and Emerson Polling, "Massachusetts Residents’ Perceptions of K-12 Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic," with Emerson's lead analyst, Isabel Holloway, and Pioneer Institute’s Charlie Chieppo.

Doctor Heal Thyself: Insider’s Prescription For Healthcare Reform

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with surgeon and New York Times bestselling author Dr. Marty Makary about the healthcare reform themes in The Price We Pay, the 2020 Business Book of the Year.  The discussion covers the value of price transparency, provider accountability, and performance information to drive better medical outcomes and improve doctor and patient satisfaction.

Travesty of Justice: Massachusetts Drug War Collapses on Lab Scandal

Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute senior legal fellow Jim McKenna about Massachusetts’ drug prosecution cases resting on evidence produced by badly mismanaged drug testing labs, and the implications for potentially hundreds of thousands convicted on erroneous, tainted, or fabricated evidence.

Struggling For Sunshine: Transparency’s Power To Keep Leaders Accountable

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute's Mary Z. Connaughton about the value of transparency and Pioneer’s extensive work to provide greater access to legislative and policy information to hold elected officials accountable and build trust in our state government. Read Pioneer Institute's Sunshine Week Transparency Resolutions.

Traffic Strikes Back: New Transportation Strategies for Post-Pandemic Prosperity

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Chris Dempsey, Director of Transportation for Massachusetts, about road and mass transit innovations that could address traffic challenges in a high-growth, post-pandemic economy.

Post-Pandemic Prospects: Tech Leaders’ Prescription for Preserving a Healthy Economy

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Chris Anderson, President of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, about the reasons why Massachusetts has a thriving tech sector, what challenges his members have faced in the pandemic, and what he sees as the most prudent path toward future prosperity in the commonwealth.

Digesting Digital Medicine: Healthcare Benefits When Smart Pills Track When Taken

/
Host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Bill Smith talk with Valerie Sullivan, President and CEO of EtectRX about the health care costs of improperly taking prescriptions and the promise of smart pills to signal and track medicines when ingested.

Patient-centered Model Outshines Insurance-centered Healthcare during Pandemic

/
Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute Senior Fellow Josh Archambault about his newest research paper entitled, "Direct Health Care Agreements: A New Option For Patient-Centered Care That Costs Less and Reduces Provider Burn-out" and how this emerging service model provided its patients with comprehensive health service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wealth Migration Trends: Remote Work Technology Empowers Workers to Live Anywhere

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Andrew Mikula about his recent research into migration trends of high-income individuals, how pandemic-related technologies may accelerate that movement, and what challenges these changes present for policy makers.

Interstate Legal Skirmish: New Hampshire Takes Massachusetts Telecommuter Tax to the Supreme Court

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with legal scholar and George Mason University Law Professor Ilya Somin about the details, the merits, and the likely implications of the Supreme Court case, New Hampshire v. Massachusetts, on state taxation power, federalism, and the power to vote with one’s feet.

Connecticut’s Painful Journey: Wealth Squandered, Lessons Learned, Promise Explored

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s President and CEO, Chris DiPentima, about what policy makers can learn from Connecticut’s journey from the wealthiest state in the nation, to one with more than a decade of negative job growth.

Intrepid Restauranteurs Endure: Passion for Community, Patrons, and Staff Mean Failure is Not on the Menu

/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Massachusetts Restaurant Association President and CEO Bob Luz about the devastating effects of the pandemic and lockdowns on restaurants.  They discuss the industry's creative strategy for survival, plans for reaching beyond the crisis, and the many positive improvements for this vital sector that employs 10% of the workforce in the commonwealth.