Justices were wary of overstepping the “separation of powers” in a bid for courts to increase pay for attorneys who represent indigent defendants.
Committee for Public Counsel Services
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
Inmates accuse Souza guards of retaliation
THE STATE’S MOST SECURE prison facility has turned into a war zone since a group of inmates attacked and severely injured three corrections officers on January 10. Staff at the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
SJC faces tricky constitutional challenge in indigent defense case
THE STATE’S HIGHEST COURT is wrestling with a case centered on how to guarantee a fundamental constitutional right of the judicial system — the right of criminal defendants, even those […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Showdown over shortage of lawyers for poor heading to SJC
ALL DEFENDANTS in criminal cases are constitutionally entitled to legal representation, regardless of their ability to pay for an attorney. But what happens when the office charged with providing lawyers […]