
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.
Most were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations.
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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
19 minutes ago
- The Independent
Boy, 3, dies after being left in a hot car for 5 hours by child services on his way back to foster care
A 3-year-old boy who was in the care of a contractor for Alabama 's human resources department died on Tuesday after a transport driver left him alone in a hot car for around five hours. The child was identified by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office as Ketorrius "KJ" Starks Jr, of Bessemer, according to The vehicle was left in the driveway of a home with the windows rolled up. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the boy had been left in the car from 12.30 p.m. until around 5.30 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6.03 p.m. Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 90s on Tuesday afternoon in the area, but with humidity factored in, it would have felt as high as 103 degrees at 1 p.m. and 100 degrees by 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. According to the boy's aunt, Brittney Debruce, the boy was in the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources and was living at a foster home. When the foster parent went to pick the boy up from daycare, he was not there. According to Debruce, a transport driver — who was as a contractor for the DHR driving children to visitations — picked the boy up and took him to a DHR office in Bessmer for a scheduled visit with his father. After the visit, Ketorrius was never brought back to the day care. Debruce and the Birmingham police eventually found the child inside the car. The boy's mother was then notified that her son had died, leaving the family distraught. "We don't know what's going on," Debruce told The DHR provided a statement to about the incident. 'A child in DHR custody was being transported by a contract provider when the incident occurred. The provider has terminated their employee. Due to confidentiality, DHR cannot comment further regarding the identity of the child or the exact circumstances," the agency said. Birmingham police are investigating the child's death. The company that picked up Ketorrius is called The Covenant Services. According to the Debruce family attorney, Courtney French, after the driver took Ketorrius from his visit with his father, the worker stopped to grocery shop and to buy tobacco. The worker then returned home and left the boy in the car. The Independent has requested comment from The Covenant Services. 'This is a heartbreaking and preventable tragedy.' French told the outlet. She estimated that with the heat index the day of the incident hitting 108 degrees Farhenheit, the temperature inside the car was likely around 150 degrees. Ketorrius's parents issued a statement, calling the situation their "worst nightmare." "Our baby should be alive," the parents said.


Daily Mail
19 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Shooter is arrested after opening fire at busy Massachusetts mall
A shooter opened fire at a busy mall in Massachusetts on Friday afternoon. The suspect, who started raining bullets near the entrance of Holyoke Mall just after 4.30pm, was apprehended by police who rushed to the scene. There were no injures, but the busy mall was evacuated during the ordeal. Frantic shoppers were seen running for their lives towards the exits while fire alarms rang out in the building, according to witnesses. Police are currently at the scene as they continue to investigate. Joshua A. Garcia, Mayor at Holyoke City Hall, said: 'At approximately 4:40pm. Holyoke Police Officers responded to the mall for a report of shots fired near the entrance to Round One. A suspect is in custody. 'There is no ongoing threat, no innocent bystander injuries or death. The mall has been temporarily evacuated. This is an ongoing investigation and further information will be released when it is available.' The mall is the third-largest in New England and features 135 stores, a large food court, and several restaurants spread out over 1.6 million square feet.


The Guardian
19 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Troubled New Orleans jail apologizes after releasing detainee by mistake
The jail in New Orleans from which 10 inmates escaped in May mistakenly released another detained man on Friday, according to authorities. Khalil Bryan, 30, was being held on a $100,000 bench warrant related to a failure to appear for arraignment on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm, domestic abuse child endangerment and home invasion, officials said. He was also being held on other charges as well as a warrant from a neighboring jurisdiction. Nonetheless, while processing a bond posted for another inmate by an unrelated person, deputies for the sheriff's office operating the jail failed to properly verify the inmate's identity and mistakenly released Bryan instead, said the office of the local district attorney, Jason Williams. Williams's office said in a statement that Bryan's erroneous release underscored 'the ongoing systemic issues surround the exercise of custody and control over detained individuals'. 'The failure to properly confirm the identity of an inmate prior to release is an unacceptable lapse that presents a real and immediate risk to public safety,' Williams's office said. A statement from the sheriff in charge of the jail, Susan Hutson, said her office took 'full responsibility for the clerical error that led to the mistaken release of Khalil Bryan'. 'We offer our sincere apology to the public, our law enforcement partners, and the court,' Hutson's statement said. 'This incident was the result of human error: a misidentification based on a shared last name between two individuals. We are … conducting a full internal investigation, and I can confirm that disciplinary actions will occur.' Hutson pledged that her office would collaborate with efforts to 'ensure [Bryan's] swift return to custody'. The sheriff has been under withering political criticism after 10 men in custody at the New Orleans jail escaped the facility on 16 May in one of the largest jailbreaks in recent US history. Authorities said the men yanked open a faulty cell door inside the New Orleans jail, squeezed through a hole behind a toilet, scaled a barbed-wire fence and fled into the dark. Their escapes were undetected for hours. Nine of the escapers have been recaptured, and investigators have arrested people who are accused of helping them in some fashion. The 10th escaper – Derrick Groves, who had been convicted of two murders and had pleaded guilty to a pair of other killings – remained at large as of Friday. Hutson has said she plans to run for re-election in October despite a recent poll which estimated her public approval rating was at a dismal 18%. Challengers who have signed up to run against her are also outpacing her in terms of campaign finances. The New Orleans jail has been subject to federal monitoring for years as well as a consent decree aimed at improving conditions there. Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana contributed reporting