Work stoppage which affects all courts including the East Boston District Court has the state’s justice system on edge as defendants without constitutionally mandated attorneys reach 1,600.
JUNE 29, 2025, Boston, MA – Public defender bar advocates will continue to refuse new cases after legislators unveiled the state budget with no raise. “The proposed budget does nothing to fix our worsening labor shortage and ensure we have enough attorneys to provide effective assistance of counsel to the most vulnerable,” said Jennifer O’Brien, a criminal defense attorney in Billerica who also does bar advocate work.
Bar advocate programs across Massachusetts are struggling to attract new attorneys, and blame the low rate of pay. “At one time we had nearly 400 bar advocates in Suffolk and a wait list,” said Steve Sack, board chair of Suffolk Lawyers for Justice. “Today we have less than 300 and no wait list. We are having tremendous difficulty attracting applicants because of the pay rate.” Middlesex Defense Attorneys board member Daniel Cappetta decried the shortage, saying, “For years now we have had difficulty covering duty days required by the courts. Recruiting newer qualified attorneys to take these cases has become near impossible, and we are at a crisis level.”
Massachusetts currently pays $65.00 per hour for District Court cases, far below the rates paid by surrounding states, including Rhode Island, which pays $112.00, New Hampshire, which pays $125.00, and Maine and New York, which each pay $150.00 an hour for comparable work. Hawaii recently raised hourly pay from $90 to $150. Public defender bar advocates must cover all their own expenses, including professional liability insurance, health insurance, office expenses, and receive no vacation, holidays, sick days, or pension benefits.
Over 1,600 indigent defendants have been arraigned without being appointed an attorney since the work stoppage began on May 27, 2025 according to the internal tracking of county bar advocate programs. On July 2, 2025 the Supreme Judicial Court will hold a hearing on whether to release defendants held in custody over seven days without an attorney, whether to dismiss cases open for longer than 45 days without assigned counsel, and whether to order a raise for the public defender bar advocates.
“We are zealous advocates for our current clients and our future ones,” said Elyse Hershon, a criminal defense attorney in Boston who is also a bar advocate. “It is painful to see people facing charges brought before a judge only to be told there is no attorney to represent them. But if we do not take a stand now, it will only get worse.”
“Public defender bar advocates want to make sure Constitutional rights are upheld,” said Governor’s Councillor Mara Dolan, also a public defender bar advocate. “It’s time to move forward, and the bar advocates will keep working with whoever we can to cross the finish line as soon as possible and get back to the essential work we love.”
