Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Judge Amends Sentencing for Chin, Cadden

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A federal judge today issued amended sentencing and restitution orders for two defendants in]volved in aa deadly outbreak but the two former pharnacists will still face combined sentences of some 25 years.
The amended orders were issued in Boston by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns against Barry J. Cadden and Glenn A. Chin. Cadden still faces 14.5 years in federal prison, while Chin's sentence is for 11.5 years.
The orders also increase the restitution to victims of the outbreak by $3,312. The increase, according to government attorneys, was due to a clerical error. Cadden and Chin's atttorneys did not oppose the hike .
The amended order boosts the total restitution to $82,025,648.
Cadden was part owner of the drug compounding firm that caused the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Chin was a supervising pharmacist at the now defunct company, the New England Compounding Center. They were both convicted on racketeering and conspiracy charges.
The amended orders also make some changes to bring it into compliance with a ruling from the First Circuit Court of Appeals. That panel concluded that Stearns had been too lenient in setting the sentences for the two defendants.
Cadden and Chin are currently in Michigan where they are facing multiple second degree murder charges.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com

Monday, November 8, 2021

Ruling Could Tip Cadden, Chin Cases

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A one paragraph ruling issued late last week by the Michigan Supreme Court could have a major effect on the murder trial of two former pharmacists charged with the death of 11 patients in the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak.
In the ruling the state's highest court sent appeals filed by Glenn Chin and Barry Cadden back to the state Court of Appeals, which had earlier denied the appeals concluding that Cadden and Chin's lawyers had failed to prove their appeal had to be considered immediately rather than waiting for an actual trial on the charges in Livingston Circuit Court.
The defendants are appealing the decision of Livingston District Court Judge Shauna Murphy that there was sufficient evidence of their guilt to send the case before a jury.
In its ruling last week, the high court sent the case back to the appeals court with instructions to reconsider its decision in light of findings in a 2003 case in which a mother was charged with murder in the death of her daughter.
In that case a judge had ruled that an appeal should be denied for the same grounds cited by the appeals court in the Cadden and Chin cases.
In its decision in 2003, the high court ruled that an appeal could not be denied simply on the basis that lawyers had failed to prove the issue had to be addressed immediately.
"This reason was flawed," the court ruled, adding that the denial must include a substantive reason for the decision, addressing whether the bindover denial or affirmation was justified by the evidence.
In the 2003 decision in the case against Donna Yost, the lower court had declined to bind over the defendant for trial.
She ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced child abuse charge and was sentenced to three years probation.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com.

Thursday, November 4, 2021

Cadden, Chin Appeals Sent Back to Appeals Court

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The Michigan Supreme Court has sent the appeals of two former pharmacists, facing second degree murder charges, back to the state Court of Appeals to consider the claims filed by the two defendants.
In a brief order issued today, the state's highest court said the Appeals Court should consider one of the issues raised by the lawyers for Barry J. Cadden and Glenn Chin.
The decision keeps the appeals alive. The Appeals Court had previously flatly turned down the appeals.
Cadden and Chin have been charged with 11 counts of second degree murder for their roles in the deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak. Cadden was president of the New England Compounding Center, the company that produced the contaminated drugs that caused the outbreak.
Chin was a supervising pharmacist at NECC in charge of the clean room where the deadly doses of methylprednisolone acetate were produced.
In its prior decision the appeals court concluded that Chin and Cadden's lawyers had failed to prove that the appeal needed to be acted on immediately.
In the Supreme Court ruling issued today, the court cited a specific 2003 case: People of Michigan vs. Yost. In that case Donna Yost was charged with murder in the death of her seven-year-old daughter.
After multiple appeals she pleaded guilty to a vastly reduced child abuse charge and was given three years probation.
At issue in the case was whether the magistrate abused his discretion in failing to bind the defendant over for trial.
Chin and Cadden's lawyers have challenged the decision of a district court judge, Shauna Murphy, to bind them over for trial.
Contact: wfrochejr999@gmail.com