BOSTON, MA - On Tuesday, July 22nd, more than 120 criminal cases, including some for assault on family members and police, were dismissed amid the latest fallout from a monthslong dispute over pay that has led some public defenders to stop taking new clients.
Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The protocol requires cases be dropped if a defendant has not had an attorney for 45 days and be released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days.
Tuesday was the first time the protocol was invoked to drop cases, while other suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks.
The majority of cases dropped were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations.
However, several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence, much more serious crimes.
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 threatened to shoot him.
Still, case after case, the judge invoked the Lavallee protocol, dismissing almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a "good-faith effort" to find the defendants an attorney.
"This case will be dismissed without prejudice," Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious alleged offenses 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.
He said that his office plans to re-prosecute all the cases that were dismissed.
"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 said.
"These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the casual issues here and prevent any repeat."
Governor Maura Healy, a Democrat, said the situation needs 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."
Public defenders in Massachusetts argue that they are the lowest paid in all of New England. At the end of May, they launched a work stoppage 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.
However, the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed earlier in July by Healy did not include any of the above mentioned increases.
The pay of public defenders is a national issue, with Massachusetts being the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system.
Earlier in July, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed a two-year state budget into law that increases 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.
Oregon has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, July 22nd, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days.
Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The protocol requires cases be dropped if a defendant has not had an attorney for 45 days and be released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days.
Tuesday was the first time the protocol was invoked to drop cases, while other suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks.
The majority of cases dropped were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations.
However, several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence, much more serious crimes.
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 threatened to shoot him.
Still, case after case, the judge invoked the Lavallee protocol, dismissing almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a "good-faith effort" to find the defendants an attorney.
"This case will be dismissed without prejudice," Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious alleged offenses 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.
He said that his office plans to re-prosecute all the cases that were dismissed.
"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 said.
"These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the casual issues here and prevent any repeat."
Governor Maura Healy, a Democrat, said the situation needs 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."
Public defenders in Massachusetts argue that they are the lowest paid in all of New England. At the end of May, they launched a work stoppage 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.
However, the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed earlier in July by Healy did not include any of the above mentioned increases.
The pay of public defenders is a national issue, with Massachusetts being the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system.
Earlier in July, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers signed a two-year state budget into law that increases 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.
Oregon has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, July 22nd, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days.
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