by In an attempt to compel the state to raise their compensation, defense lawyers around Massachusetts organized a work stoppage in late May, promising to stop taking on cases involving the poor. Defendants who are not represented in court started to be freed from jail this week.
Including one who allegedly attacked his pregnant wife and placed her in a headlock until she passed out, at least four people have been ordered to be released thus far. According to The Boston Globe, that man, Eliseu Pina, will be given a GPS bracelet and made to remain at his mother’s residence.
Using the Lavallee protocol, which a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court invoked last week, Boston Municipal Court heard about a dozen cases on Monday. Six individuals, including Pina, were ordered to be released by a judge; however, two will remain detained on warrants in counties that are not covered by the protocol. Currently, only Middlesex and Suffolk counties are subject to the Lavalee protocol.
However, that still leaves hundreds of defendants without legal counsel. Lavalee hearings in Lowell District Court and Boston Municipal Court will continue on a rolling basis.
Every person facing criminal charges is entitled to legal representation under the constitution. In Massachusetts, bar advocates—private lawyers who are compensated by the state to represent impoverished criminal defendants—represent the majority of those facing charges who are unable to pay for their own legal representation.
Compared to many neighboring states, Massachusetts pays its bar advocates $65 per hour for district court work. They are requesting a rate rise of almost $35 per hour, given their last raise was in 2022.
Bar advocates will not receive raises under the state’s reduced fiscal year 2026 budget, which Governor Maura Healey recently signed into law. In a statement, the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers expressed its profound disappointment with the absence of financing.
Even though bar advocates are essential to defending everyone’s constitutional rights in the Commonwealth, we feel that the importance and urgency of this job are not adequately represented in the final FY26 state budget. According to the MACDL, the ongoing underfunding of indigent defense not only compromises the Sixth Amendment’s protection of the right to counsel but also upholds structural injustices in our legal system.
Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt invoked the Lavalee procedure and explained her reasoning in a 25-page order. It followed a lawsuit against prosecutors brought by the Committee for Public Counsel Services on behalf of unrepresented, impoverished criminal offenders.
Bar advocates are supervised by the CPCS. A defendant must be freed from custody after seven days if a judge determines that the CPCS attempted in good faith but was unable to locate a lawyer for them. Charges against those who have not had legal representation for forty-five days must be dropped without prejudice, which means they may be refiled later.
In her ruling, Wendlandt stated that by the end of July, hundreds of defendants will have been without counsel for forty-five days if the existing circumstances continue. “There are currently no apparent prospects for a significant remediation of the problem, so the shortage of bar advocates is likely to continue for the foreseeable future,” she said.
Since the work stoppage started, the number of unrepresented indigent defendants in the courts has increased dramatically, and it is predicted to keep rising. However, Wendlandt stated that legislative action is likely to be necessary to solve the underlying problem of poor pay, which is currently a hazy prospect.
The four individuals who were ordered to be released on Monday had been detained for over seven days and are still facing charges. Cases involving individuals accused of more serious offenses are being covered, according to the CPCS. On Monday, the team hastily searched for legal counsel for Roberto Mercado Falero, who is suspected of stabbing a random person in the street. According to the Globe, they did locate him representation, preventing his release.
As lawyers handle what some are referring to as a full-blown constitutional breakdown, that demanding task is probably going to continue.
Since 2022, Ross Cristantiello has been a general assignment news correspondent for Boston.com, covering a variety of topics including as local politics, crime, and the environment.
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