Cadden, Chin Must Attend Hearing

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Michigan judge has ruled that two former pharmacists facing second degree murder charges must attend November hearings during which prosecutors will present testimony to be used in an upcoming trial.
District Court Judge Shauna Murphy made the ruling Tuesday following arguments by attorneys for Glenn Chin and Barry Cadden. The two have been charged with 11 counts of second degree murder due to their roles in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. The arguments were presented in Livingston District Court in Howell.
James Buttrey, Chin's lawyer, and Gerald Gleeson II, Cadden's attorney,had asked Murphy to allow their clients to forego the preliminary examination sessions scheduled for Nov. 14 and 15.
Gregory Townsend, an assistant state Attorney General, had argued that the two defendants should be required to attend the sessions because testimony about the case will be presented. He said he could not recall any case in which defendants facing second degree murder charges were allowed to skip a preliminary examination.
Those expected to testify include Michigan victims of the outbreak and the survivors of those who died.
Under Michigan law at a preliminary examination hearing the prosecution has to show that a crime has occurred and it is more likely than not that the defendants committed the crimes.
Murphy said that while it may be inconvenient for the two to travel to Michigan the preliminary examination is a crucial part of the proceedings, according to Donna Borton, the spouse of a victim, who attended the Tuesday session.
Cadden and Chin are already serving time in federal prisons in Pennsylvania following their conviction on racketeering, conspiracy and mail fraud charges. Chin is serving an eight year sentence at the federal prison in Allenwood, while Cadden is serving a nine year sentence at the federal prison in Loretto.
The two were cleared in two separate federal trials of second degree murder racketeering charges.
Cadden was president and part owner of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the contaminated drugs that caused the outbreak. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC.
Buttrey and Gleeson had argued that the long bus ride would be a hardship for their clients and that their attendance was not crucial. Gleeson noted that Cadden's identity was not in dispute.
In addition to the two days of testimony scheduled for November an additional two days are scheduled for Dec. 10 and 11.
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