Court-appointed attorneys say an agreement reached with Massachusetts lawmakers is a "critical starting point" toward ending a work stoppage that has resulted in more than 120 cases being dismissed. Attorneys are urging Gov. Maura Healey to sign off on a budget deal with state lawmakers that would increase pay rates in the state. 

A statement from House Speaker Ron Mariano said the agreement, as part of the mid-year supplemental budget, provides pay increases for bar advocates, who are private attorneys that take on 80% of court-appointed work.

"The right to legal representation is a crucial element of the Constitutional guarantee to a fair trial, which is why I urge the bar advocates to return to work so that they can resume upholding that right and put an end to this public safety crisis," said Mariano in a statement.

Increased pay for bar advocates

Bar advocates will see their rates go up by $20 per hour over the next two years if the agreement is approved. District Court lawyers currently make $65 an hour and could see that go up to $75 an hour starting August 1 of this year and $85 an hour starting August 1, 2026.

"The proposed increases to private counsel compensation represent the most significant progress ever made toward improving Bar Advocate pay and strengthening the statewide right to counsel," said a spokesperson for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state's public defender organization, in a statement. "This proposal is a critical starting point, and we will work to build on this momentum in future budgets to ensure that Bar Advocate compensation continues to reflect the value of their work and the essential role they play in protecting the rights of our clients."

The CPCS is calling on Gov. Maura Healey to now sign the budget.

"I've said for a long time that this work stoppage is bad for public safety and for the functioning of our courts. This agreement is a positive development, and I'm grateful for the Legislature's work," said Healey in a statement.     

The agreement also shifts more of the work burden to state public defenders by providing increased resources of about $40 million to hire more than 300 public defenders by the end of the fiscal year in 2027. The statement from the House said this would increase the proportion of clients represented by public defenders instead of bar advocates.

Why was there a work stoppage?

The agreement comes after a work stoppage by the bar advocates began back in May, with the lawyers calling for better pay. 

As a result, a judge dismissed more than 100 cases last week because defendants had been without a lawyer for 45 days. They had already been released from custody after not having a lawyer for seven days. The judge did this by invoking a rule called the Lavallee Protocol.

Most of the dismissed cases were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations, but also included men and women charged with assault and battery and drug dealing.