LOWELL — Defendants facing charges including armed robbery and drug trafficking were released from custody on Wednesday at the Kiernan Judicial Center, as trial courts in Middlesex and Suffolk counties began holding emergency Lavallee Protocol hearings at the Lowell-based courthouse in response to a statewide shortage of court-appointed attorneys.
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‘Strong medicine’: SJC orders courts to begin potential release of indigent defendants as right-to-counsel crisis hits breaking point
BOSTON — Declaring a “systemic violation” of constitutional rights, Massachusetts’ highest court on Thursday ordered trial courts in Middlesex and Suffolk counties to begin hearings that could lead to the release of jailed defendants and dismissal of charges against individuals who remain unrepresented.
CPCS petitions SJC to release jailed defendants amid attorney shortage
Amid a spiraling shortage of court-appointed defense attorneys, the state’s top court is being asked to release jailed indigent defendants left without lawyers — including more than a dozen in Middlesex County — as hundreds of people statewide remain unrepresented.
‘The end result is going to be chaos’: Bar advocates to halt indigent defense work over stagnant pay
According to Massachusetts bar advocates, without a long-overdue raise, the justice system is headed for some serious trouble.
‘I am unhappy’: Convicted fraudster and ex-Massachusetts state Sen. Dean Tran delays sentencing again
“It’s unfair to me. It’s unfair to the government. It’s unfair to the people who have made time to be here,” Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV said. “It’s unfair, it’s inappropriate and I feel like I have no choice but to continue this hearing.”
Written in Granite: Capital punishment in New Hampshire
Did you know that New Hampshire’s last execution (by hanging) was held in 1939? In its history, the Granite State has executed 26 people. In 2019, New Hampshire ended capital punishment.
