The Boston Globe reported this morning that special courts are being established to handle the cases against Annie Dookhan, a state chemist who admitted to altering drug test results and forging colleagues’ initials at a drug sample Jamaica Plain laboratory. Dookhan’s illegal actions may have compromised as many as 60,000 cases and the verdicts in 1,100 convictions. The article noted, however, that no criminal charges had been filed against Dookhan.

But, shortly following the article, the twitter handle for Boston.com tweeted this,

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/BostonDotCom/status/251704968820686848″]

Dookhan was subsequently arrested at her home in Franklin, MA. She is charged with Obstruction of Justice (2 counts) and Falsely Pretending to Hold a Degree from a College or University. She will be arraigned at Boston Municipal Court, which is expected to occur in the afternoon session beginning at 2 p.m. Attorney General Martha Coakley will hold media availability at her office at 1 p.m.

Two days ago, the State House News Service noted the following in a report:

“In an interview with detectives, chemist Annie Dookhan confessed to improperly removing drug samples from evidence storage, forging her colleagues’ signatures on log books, and intentionally turning negative tests into positive by adding drugs.

The only explanation Dookhan gave investigators for her action was that she wanted to “get more work done,” though she did not suggest she was under any pressure to improve her productivity and state officials have said Dookhan’s workload far exceeded that of any of her colleagues at the lab.”

Dookhan may have compromised roughly 34,000 cases since 2003 (The Globe estimates as many as 60,000 cases) including those of 1,100 inmates who were convicted as a result of her analyses.

Coakley is currently conducting a wide-range investigation with the help of two State Police detectives, Det. Capt. Joseph Mason and Det. Lt. Robert Irwin. The two visited Dookhan’s home back in August to interview her as part of the investigation of the lab. With their help, the State Police has published a 101-page report noting Dookhan’s poor work habits, which she then tried to cover up by tampering with evidence. When presented with evidence by the two detectives, Dookhan admitted to removing “90 drug samples in June 20011 from the evidence room that were not assigned to her and not entered into the computer or evidence log book by an evidence officer. Though she said she did not recall removing the evidence, she told police ‘she must have done so’ because it was the only explanation.”

Chief Justice of the Trial Court Robert Mulligan told the Globe yesterday that he plans to “use every possible resource to make sure the cases — expected to number in the thousands — are dealt with expeditiously. The business hours of courts may need to be extended because of the sheer number of cases.” The attorney general’s office may require as much as $1 million in order to delve into the thousands of cases brought forth by prosecutors.

Because of the volume of cases, Mulligan is looking into assigning judges from each Massachusetts county oversee his new court where multiple judges may be have to hear different cases. An anonymous Massachusetts judge told the Globe, “I have never, ever seen anything like this. It’s astounding. The response has been very positive in terms of the commitment that individuals who are generally on opposites sides have to justice and to individual rights. That’s been very encouraging.”

Stay tuned with BostInno to hear the latest on Dookhan’s case and how the state will proceed with the thousands of cases.