Justices were wary of overstepping the “separation of powers” in a bid for courts to increase pay for attorneys who represent indigent defendants.
bar advocates
Posted inOpinion
On bail policy, Massachusetts must catch upÂ
Massachusetts has positioned itself as a leader on a range of policy domains under attack by the Trump administration. But as a national conversation has arisen about cash bail and public safety, fueled by misinformation from the White House, Massachusetts is on the sidelines.
Posted inCourts
Bar advocate work stoppage becomes an SJC separation-of-powers conundrum
Over the course of 70 minutes of arguments by the two sides, and pointed questioning from the justices, none of the Supreme Judicial Court’s seven judges appeared eager to snatch the power of the purse from Beacon Hill lawmakers.
Posted inState Government
Deal to raise bar advocate pay panned as ‘a slap in the face’
Legislative leaders on Wednesday rolled out a take-it-or-leave-it proposal that some dissatisfied attorneys quickly slammed as insufficient.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Opinion
In indigent defense case, precedent for strong SJC action
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, in Lavallee v. Justices in the Hampden Superior Court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed the shortage of attorneys available to represent indigent criminal defendants in Hampden […]