Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney
At a mostly empty courtroom, Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case. It requires cases be dropped if a defendant hasn't had an attorney for 45 days and released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days. Tuesday was the first time it was invoked to drop cases, while suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks.
But several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence. One suspect allegedly punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and slapped her in the face. Another case involved a woman who was allegedly assaulted by the father of her child, who threatened to kill her and tried to strangle her. A third case involved a suspect who allegedly hit a police officer and threated to shoot him.
The judge, repeatedly invoking the Lavallee protocol, dismissed almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a good-faith effort to find the defendants an attorney. No defendants were in court to hear their cases being dismissed.
'This case will be dismissed without prejudice,' Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived.
Frustration from prosecutors over dropped cases
Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious being dismissed.
'The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety,' James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said in a statement. They vowed to re-prosecute all the cases.
"Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are working extremely hard to keep victims and other impacted persons updated on what's happening with their cases," he continued. 'These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat.'
The district attorney's office plans to re-prosecute all of the dismissed cases.
Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, speaking to reporters in Fall River, said the situation needed to be resolved.
'This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue as people need representation," she said. 'I know the parties are talking. They have got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court ... and certainly they need to be paid fairly.'
Dispute revolves around pay
Public defenders, who argue they are the lowest paid in New England, launched a work stoppage at the end of May in hopes of pressuring the legislature to increase their hourly pay. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases.
But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed early this month by Healey didn't include any increase.
'The dismissal of cases today under the Lavallee protocols is what needs to be done for those individuals charged with crimes but with no lawyer to vindicate their constitution rights," said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It is, however, not a solution to the deep crisis of inadequate pay for bar advocates. Until there are enough qualified lawyers in courts to fulfill the constitutional obligation of the right to counsel this crisis will only intensify."
The pay of public defenders is a national issue
Massachusetts is the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system.
In Wisconsin, a two-year state budget signed into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would increase the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries.
Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards.
Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days.
Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most affected by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
Mike Johnson says Ghislaine Maxwell should serve 'life sentence,' opposes potential pardon
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, said he believes Ghislaine Maxwell, a key associate of Jeffrey Epstein currently serving 20 years in prison for conspiring to sexually abuse minors, should face "a life sentence." "If you're asking my opinion, I think 20 years was a pittance," Johnson told NBC's Kristen Welker on "Meet the Press" July 27. "I think she should have a life sentence, at least." His remarks to NBC come as many, including supporters of President Donald Trump, clamor for testimony from Maxwell. Some followers of the case have proposed a pardon in exchange, but Trump told reporters on July 25 he hadn't considered the move. "I'm allowed to do it, but it's something I have not thought about," the president said. Epstein was charged with sexually trafficking minors and died by suicide while in detention in 2019. Maxwell, his longtime girlfriend, has been accused of recruiting minors for the disgraced financier's predation. Maxwell maintains her innocence and is appealing her 2021 sex-trafficking conviction. Johnson in his interview with NBC reiterated that pardons aren't up to him, telling the outlet, "obviously that's a decision of the president." "I won't get it in front of him," Johnson said. "That's not my lane." But, later in the interview he noted, "It's hard to put into words how evil this was, and that she orchestrated it and was a big part of it." "So, again, not my decision," he added, "but I have great pause about that, as any reasonable person would." The Trump administration for weeks has faced backlash over its handling of Epstein's case. Critics from Democratic lawmakers to prominent Republicans and slices of Trump's voter base accuse the president and other officials of not being transparent with the American people. The speaker has faced his own ongoing Epstein-related criticism, as some House Republicans have zeroed in on the Justice Department's recent review of Epstein's case and are calling for related documents to be released publicly. Democrats in Congress have piled on too. Reps. Ro Khanna, D-California, and Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, introduced a bipartisan measure to force the Trump administration's hand in releasing the federal government's files. Also on "Meet The Press," the pair split on pardoning Maxwell. "That would be up to the president," Massie said. "But if she has information that could help us, then I think she should testify. Let's get that out there. And whatever they need to do to compel that testimony, as long as it's truthful, I would be in favor of." Khanna disagreed, saying Maxwell shouldn't receive a pardon. "Look, I agree with Congressman Massie that she should testify," the California Democrat said. "But she's been indicted twice on perjury. This is why we need the files. This is why we need independent evidence." Contributing: Bart Jansen and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
At least 34 killed in attack on Congo church by Islamic State-backed rebels, official says
GOMA, Congo — The death toll from an attack on a Catholic church in eastern Congo by Islamic State-backed rebels has risen to 34, according to a civil society leader. 'The bodies of the victims are still at the scene of the tragedy, and volunteers are preparing how to bury them in a mass grave that we are preparing in a compound of the Catholic church,' Dieudonne Duranthabo, a civil society coordinator in Komanda, in the Ituri province, told the Associated Press. At least five other people were killed in an earlier attack on the nearby village of Machongani, where a search is ongoing. 'They took several people into the bush; we do not know their destination or their number,' Lossa Dhekana, a civil society leader in Ituri, told the AP. Both attacks are believed to have been carried out by members of the Islamic State-allied Allied Democratic Force, or ADF, armed with guns and machetes. The military has confirmed at least 10 fatalities, while local media reports put the total death toll at more than 40. Duranthabo said attackers stormed the church in Komanda town around 1 a.m. Several houses and shops were also burned. Lt. Jules Ngongo, a Congolese army spokesperson in Ituri province, confirmed 10 killed in the church attack. Video from the scene shared online appeared to show burning structures and bodies on the floor of the church. Those who were able to identify some of the victims wailed while others stood in shock. A United Nations-backed radio station said 43 people were killed, citing security sources. It said the attackers came from a stronghold around 7 miles from the center of Komanda and fled before security forces could arrive. Duranthabo condemned the attack 'in a town where all the security officials are present.' He added: 'We demand military intervention as soon as possible, since we are told the enemy is still near our town.' Eastern Congo has suffered deadly attacks in recent years by armed groups, including the ADF and Rwanda-backed rebels. The ADF, which has ties to the Islamic State, operates in the borderland between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo and often targets civilians. The group killed dozens of people in Ituri this month in what a U.N. spokesperson described as a bloodbath. The ADF was formed by disparate small groups in Uganda in the late 1990s amid reported discontent with President Yoweri Museveni. In 2002, following military assaults by Ugandan forces, the group moved its activities to neighboring Congo and has since been responsible for the killings of thousands of civilians. In 2019, it pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as FARDC, which has long struggled against the rebel group, has been facing attacks since the renewed hostilities with the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Kabumba and Adetayo write for the Associated Press and reported from Goma and Lagos, Nigeria, respectively. AP writer Saleh Mwanamilongo contributed to this report.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
China's famous Shaolin Temple leader is under investigation on suspicion of embezzling funds
BEIJING (AP) — China's famous Shaolin Temple announced on Sunday that its abbot is under investigation on suspicion of misappropriation and embezzlement of project funds and temple assets. Shi Yongxin was alleged to have committed criminal offenses and seriously violated the Buddhist precepts by maintaining relationships with multiple women over a long period and fathering at least one child, according to a notice from the temple's authority on its WeChat account. The notice said multiple departments were conducting a joint investigation against Shi Yongxin, and relevant findings would be announced to the public in due course. The fame of the Shaolin Temple, based in the central Chinese province of Henan, has gone beyond a religious institution. It is also famous for its martial arts culture, or kung fu, which has been referenced in many movies and TV dramas, including the 1982 film "The Shaolin Temple,' starring martial arts superstar Jet Li. The news about Shi Yongxin, whose original name Liu Yingcheng, ranked top on Chinese search engine Baidu and X-like social media platform Weibo on Sunday night. Local media reported that the abbot had been hit by scandalous accusations in the past, including claims that he fathered several children and embezzled money. According to news outlet Caixin Global, provincial investigation reports exonerated him of all charges in 2016. Shi Yongxin entered Shaolin Temple in 1981 and became its abbot in 1999, according to the temple's website. Xinhua in 2015 reported that he was known as a 'CEO monk,' as one of the first Chinese monks to obtain an MBA, and he had sparked controversy for developing commercial operations like lucrative kung fu shows and merchandise.
