Over 100 criminal cases have been dismissed in Boston Municipal Court as defendants lack legal representation due to an attorney work stoppage in Massachusetts. The stoppage is a result of bar advocates refusing to accept district court cases following a pay dispute with the state. Massachusetts relies on private attorneys known as bar advocates to handle indigent clients, unlike other states with public defenders. Compensation for bar advocates is significantly lower than in neighboring regions and the state jurisdiction fails to adequately support the constitutional rights of defendants.
More than 100 criminal cases at Boston Municipal Court have been dismissed as Massachusetts defendants go without lawyers in the wake of an attorney work stoppage.
Bar advocates make much less than hired private defense attorneys, but compensation is especially bad in Massachusetts.
The state pays bar advocates just $65 an hour for district court cases, the lowest rate in the region, and less than twice that for homicide cases.
The U.S. Constitution mandates legal representation for criminal defendants, but thousands in Massachusetts have lacked it since the stoppage began.
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