By Ruby Chavez
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco District Attorney Chelsea Boudin last Friday announced that the San Francisco DA’s office’s website has posted a comprehensive list of prosecutions that may be impacted by the misconduct—a drug arrest—of a recent Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) analyst
OCME Forensic Laboratory Analyst Justin Volk was arrested last Aug. 31 and charged with possession of methamphetamine with purpose to distribute the drug to Washington County, Utah.
For 13 years, Volk worked for the forensic lab at the OCME, and during that time he was involved in various cases that were prosecuted by the DA’s Office—involvement in drugs may have tainted cases he worked on for the SFDA.
The District Attorney’s Office list of prosecutions that possibly were impacted by Volk is meant to provide transparency and empower those who may be affected in this matter.
“My office has acted with great urgency in responding to the allegations against Justin Volk, and we have prioritized working to review all convictions in cases in which he was involved,
adding “ensuring the integrity of our convictions is of the utmost importance, and for that reason, we are publishing this information as part of our commitment to integrity and transparency in the criminal legal system,” said Boudin.
Volk has been involved in testing, collection, and preservation of evidence over 2,500 law enforcement investigations including 500 death investigations, 1,200 sexual-assault, and 800 DUI investigations.
Each of those investigation cases involving a laboratory analyst minimally involves receiving, logging, accessioning, storing, disposing, screening, and preparing biological and toxicological samples for forensic science purposes.
The DA’s office sent a letter to Mayor London Breed and the President of the Board of Supervisors Norman Yee on Sept. 11 that requested further resources in order to meet the office’s Constitutional duties, including to notify, identify, and investigate the impact of the potential mishandling and misappropriation of OCME property.
The letter was set forth saying the DA’s Office will individually review every case that Volk was involved in and ensuring that no conviction or punishment have been improperly tainted.
The SFDA is encouraging anyone whose information is contained on the list or if Volk may have been involved in their case to get in contact with their defense attorney to discuss whether a legal remedy may be available.
Justin Volk will remain under investigation by the SF District Attorney’s Office.
Potentially impacted cases are available here: https://sfdistrictattorney.org/resources/ocme-case-list/
Ruby Chavez is a graduating senior at California State University Sacramento majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Sociology. She is from Visalia, California
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