On Friday, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed legislation increasing the rate of pay for lawyers who accept court appointed cases by $7.50 an hour. That makes the current rate of pay: $37.50 for District Court; $46.50 for Superior Court; and $61.50 for murder cases, with the same rate increases for juvenile cases involving children and families.

The Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorney President, Tom Workman commented: "It was heartening to see the issue addressed, after so many years. The decision of whether to continue to do this work is an individual decision, resting with each of the contractors who do this work. It is my opinion that a substantial portion of the attorneys who do this work will stop doing this work in the next few weeks, creating a situation in which defendants will be routinely released in every part of the Commonwealth. With average overhead rates for attorneys at $68 an hour, increasing compensation from $30 to $37.50 helps, but it does not allow attorneys to continue to do the work while supporting themselves, let alone a family. When attorneys stop representing indigent defendants, it is with reluctance and regret -- but at a point, one has no choice. It will be a sad day when the streets are flooded with defendants who are released because our system of providing indigent defense has been so badly underfunded, for so long, that it simply cannot function. This scenario is not just possible, it is nearly certain. The really sad part is that the situation could have been avoided. A small number of legislators worked incredibly hard to solve this problem, but they could not do it alone. Court appointed attorneys are indebted to representatives O'Flaherty, Candaras, Haddad, Fagan, and Knuuttila -- who worked so hard to try to solve this problem."

With the implementation of a 25% increase in the rate paid for District Court Attorneys, Massachusetts now has the distinction of paying the second lowest hourly rate of the twenty-five states that have adjusted compensation in the past decade, and the percentage exceeds only four other states: Iowa (11% increase to $50), Colorado (18% increase to $47), North Dakota (20% increase to $60), and South Dakota (22% increase to $67). All of the states with smaller percentage increases pay significantly more per hour, and when the cost of living is considered, Massachusetts is not even in the same ball park with the rest of the country. The pay rate of $67 an hour in South Dakota goes a lot further than $37.50 an hour in Boston. It should be noted that the percentage increase is lower for lawyers who work in the Superior Court (19% increase) and lawyers on the murder list (13% increase).

In the past ten years, only two states implemented increases less than Massachusetts, Colorado increased by $7 an hour to $47, and Iowa increased from $45 to $50 an hour If these two increases are adjusted for inflation and cost of living, Massachusetts has the distinction of being dead last in the adjustment, leaving Massachusetts at the very bottom in what attorneys receive.

Please direct all questions or requests for change in contact information to Nancy McLean, Press Secretary, Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys, nmm@c..., cell phone 617-529-6349.

The Massachusetts Association of Court Appointed Attorneys is a non-profit corporation established in 2003 for the purpose of ensuring that the highest quality of legal representation is given to each and every person entitled to court appointed counsel regardless of ability to pay. MACAA encompasses all attorneys on all legal panels where counsel are appointed for indigent persons: defendants in the criminal system; juveniles involved in delinquency matters; children before the Court under the stubborn children statute; parents and children involved in Care and Protection proceedings; mental health proceedings; proceedings before the sexual offender registration board; and proceedings for the commitment of sexually dangerous persons. MACAA was formed and is run on a voluntary basis by its own members. There are approximately 2,400 attorneys in Massachusetts who accept court appointed cases. Although the current system for appointing attorneys to indigent persons was established in 1984, until 2003 there was no similar statewide organization. The Committee for Public Counsel Services is the state agency charged with training and oversight of these attorneys.