The passage of the law seeks to address a work stoppage initiated by public defenders in May
Public defenders in Massachusetts have received a salary hike with the passage of a funding bill by state lawmakers, reported the Associated Press.
The bill increases the hourly rate of private attorneys serving as public defenders by US$20 per hour over two years, representing a 30 percent boost. Out of the US$259 million supplemental budget, US$40 million will also be allocated towards doubling the number of attorneys under the state Committee for Public Counsel Services; moreover, it facilitates the addition of 320 public defenders by the end of the 2027 fiscal year.
The bill aims to help address a work stoppage initiated by public defenders in May. The funding battle has extended across several US states and resulted in over 100 cases being dismissed due to a lack of legal counsel and attorneys for defendants.
“This agreement is focused on balancing fiscal responsibility amid ongoing uncertainty, paying the bills, and upholding our Constitutional obligation to ensure indigent defendants have access to legal representation,” said senator Michael Rodrigues, Senate Committee on Ways and Means chair, in a statement published by AP News.
Committee chief counsel Anthony Benedetti described the funding boost as “the most significant progress ever made toward improving Bar Advocate pay and strengthening the statewide right to counsel,” per a statement published by AP News.
However, private attorneys tackling the majority of cases for indigent clients pushed back against the plan; at a news conference, attorney Sean Delaney called for hourly rates to be increased by US$35 per hour in the 2026 fiscal year and then by $25 per hour the following year.
Last month, Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court implemented the Lavallee protocol in the counties of Middlesex and Suffolk in response to the public defender work stoppage, per the Lowell Sun. Under this protocol, cases must be dismissed if a defendant is not granted an attorney in 45 days; moreover, defendants who have not received legal representation in seven days must be released from custody. Over 60 defendants have since been freed from incarceration.
