BOSTON — Four days after the state’s highest court issued an order to release unrepresented indigent defendants from jail if they’ve been in jail for at least seven days, the first defendants got their freedom back.
At Boston Municipal Court on Monday, a hearing was held for about a dozen indigent defendants who do not have lawyers assigned to them.
Among them was Daishaun Lawrence, who had mixed feelings as he walked out of the courthouse.
“I appreciate it, I still will say that justice has not really been served,” Lawrence said.
He spent two weeks at Boston’s Nashua County Jail after his arrest on a drug charge.
He still does not have a court-appointed lawyer.
Lawrence believes if he had a lawyer representing him, he would not have spent a day in jail.
“My rights got broken because it wasn’t treated fairly like the constitution says it does,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence is one of about a dozen people at Boston Municipal Court whose cases are impacted by a public defender work stoppage that’s now entering its second month.
Since May, court-appointed public defenders have refused to accept new cases, saying the state’s $65 an hour rate is too low.
And that’s leaving some indigent defendants without legal representation.
Last week, the SJC ruled any indigent defendant who is held in jail and who does not have a lawyer, should be released after seven days.
Brittany Dagraca was arrested on a drug charge,
She is now out of jail.
“(I’m) Really grateful, because without the lawyers, I’d probably still be in there, honestly,” Dagraca said.
At Boston Municipal Court, the system is struggling to work through the SJC order.
CPCS, the state contracted office that represents indigent defendants, says what’s happening right now is a legal crisis.
“I think it’s terrible that we can’t find lawyers. Everything we do is about providing counsel to people, everything we do is providing effective assistance, representation, and a voice. A voice to people who have no voice. And right now, these people have no voice,” said Rebecca Jacobstein, director of strategic litigation for CPCS.
CPCS is still providing staff defense lawyers for people charged with the most serious crimes, like murder or rape.
But it does not have enough lawyers for everyone.
According to the SJC ruling, if after 45 days indigent defendants still don’t have lawyers, their cases will be dismissed without prejudice.
That means, the charges can be brought against them again at a later time.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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