Massachusetts lawmakers pass raise for bar advocates, but some say they won't budge
Massachusetts lawmakers in the House and Senate passed a bill raising wages for bar advocates. Bar advocates are contracted by the state to represent defendants who cannot afford a lawyer, and some have stopped their work since Memorial Day, demanding better wages.
The deal would raise bar advocate wages by $10 an hour starting immediately with a promise to raise their wages another $10 an hour next fiscal year. Currently, bar advocates in Massachusetts make $65 an hour, compared to more than $100 an hour for advocates in other New England states.
A group of advocates gathered at the State House Thursday to protest the deal, which they say, was constructed in a back room without their input.
"The right to counsel is only words to them. They don't understand. They don't understand the Constitution and they certainly don't understand the hard work that bar advocates do day in and day out throughout this Commonwealth," said defense attorney Sean Delaney.
Dozens of cases dismissed
Bar advocates walked off the job after Memorial Day, demanding better wages. The move left thousands of defendants without representation and caused judges in Suffolk County to dismiss over 100 cases.
Now, the Legislature's plan would put $40 million towards hiring 320 more public defenders, a separate group of attorneys who work full time for the state.
Governor Maura Healey says she is prepared to sign the deal. "It's really a function of how much money there is in the budget right now and the legislature, I know, worked very hard to provide what they could with what we have for a budget right now," Healey said.
"We are going nowhere"
Bar advocates say their grief remains over the secrecy of the process.
"We are going nowhere. You're strengthening our cause and our resolve. Personally, I am not taking another case until they do what is right," Delaney said.
What passed also included language aimed at preventing a standoff in the future. It says bar advocates who refuse to accept new clients because of their pay may constitute a violation of the state's antitrust laws.
