An ongoing work stoppage by court-appointed attorneys who want to be paid more in Massachusetts resulted in a Boston judge on Tuesday dismissing more than 120 cases, including some for assault on family members and police

At a mostly empty courtroom, Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case. It requires cases be dropped if a defendant hasn't had an attorney for 45 days and released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days. Tuesday was the first time it was invoked to drop cases, while suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks. 

Most were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations. 

But several involved cases of assault on police officers and domestic violence. One suspect allegedly punched his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach and slapped her in the face. Another case involved a woman who was allegedly assaulted by the father of her child, who threatened to kill her and tried to strangle her. A third case involved a suspect who allegedly hit a police officer and threatened to shoot him. 

The judge, repeatedly invoking the Lavallee protocol, dismissed almost all of the cases after being convinced public defenders had made a good-faith effort to find the defendants an attorney. No defendants were in court to hear their cases being dismissed. 

"This case will be dismissed without prejudice," Lyons said repeatedly, noting that all fines and fees would be waived. 

Frustration from prosecutors over dropped cases 

Prosecutors unsuccessfully objected to the dismissal of many of the cases, especially the most serious being dismissed. 

"The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety," James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County district attorney's office, said in a statement. They vowed to re-prosecute all the cases. 

"Our prosecutors and victim witness advocates are working extremely hard to keep victims and other impacted persons updated on what's happening with their cases," he continued. "These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat." 

Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, speaking to reporters in Fall River, said the situation needed to be resolved. 

"This is a public safety issue and also a due process issue as people need representation," she said. "I know the parties are talking. They have got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court ... and certainly they need to be paid fairly." 

Dispute revolves around pay 

Many court-appointed defense lawyers in Massachusetts stopped doing their work at the end of May. They are only being paid $65 an hour for their work in Massachusetts, compared to $150 per hour in Maine, $125 in New Hampshire and $112 in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, they could be making more than $300 per hour for private work.

The 2026 budget signed by Healey this summer does not include any increase for public defenders.

"It's hard for all of us. Our instinct is to represent clients … we've been doing it for a long time at a very subpar rate," bar advocate Jamal Arturi told WBZ-TV earlier this month. "The Legislature is the only institution that can make this end."

Lawmakers and former police chiefs have criticized the work stoppage.

"It's very irresponsible. It's selfish and it's greedy," former Walpole and Newton police chief John Carmichael told WBZ-TV. "You don't just get to not come to work, because the whole system breaks down."

The pay of public defenders is a national issue 

Massachusetts is the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system. 

In New York City, legal aid attorneys are demanding better pay and working conditions. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a two-year state budget into law that increases the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. 

Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. 

Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. 

Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most affected by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases.