More than 100 retired Massachusetts judges have signed a letter calling for “fair pay” for attorneys who take on indigent criminal defendants as those lawyers continue to not work in an appeal for higher pay.
SJC
Courts seek more judges as legal deadline looms for unrepresented indigent defendants
BOSTON — Citing an ever-growing backlog of cases and the need to comply with a court-ordered deadline, Massachusetts trial courts have asked the Supreme Judicial Court to modify its July 3 order so they can assign more judges to preside over upcoming hearings for indigent defendants who have gone 45 days without legal representation.
‘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.
Massachusetts First Amendment case: Harmony Montgomery’s custody hearing audio to be released
Massachusetts First Amendment case: Harmony Montgomery’s custody hearing audio to be released
Massachusetts SJC rejects bid for new trial in Philip Chism murder case
Convicted murderer Philip Chism, who was sentenced to life in jail for the brutal rape and slay Danvers math teacher Collen Ritzer, has lost his bids for a new trial and for his conviction to be tossed.
