More than 100 criminal cases dismissed in Boston as legal crisis tightens its grip

BOSTON — In a special hearing at Boston Municipal Court, Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons dismissed more than 100 criminal cases on Tuesday.

The action taken as the public defender’s work stoppage in a dispute over wages took a dramatic turn.

“The court finds CPCS made a good faith effort to secure representation but has been unable to do so,” Judge Lyons declared more than 100 times. “This case will be dismissed without prejudice.”

Public defenders began the work stoppage back on May 27 and have been refusing to take on any new clients until they get paid a higher wage, causing a “catastrophic logjam” of criminal cases. They say the state’s $65-an-hour rate is an unlivable wage.

They say neighboring state’s pay their public defenders twice as much.

Recently, a SJC justice ordered the release of any indigent defendant held longer than 7 days.

And she ruled that all charges be dropped if any indigent defendant case is older than 45 days.

At Boston Municipal Court, most of the charges dropped were for nonviolent crimes.

However, several involved assaults on police officers, domestic violence assaults, and the use of dangerous weapons.

In Fall River, Gov. Maura Healey called for lawmakers to act.

“This is a matter of public safety and so they’ve got to sort this out and resolve this. I’ll work with them and the Legislature in any capacity to see that through,” Healey said.

Veteran Boston defense Attorney Phil Tracy agreed.

In an interview, Tracy said something must change.

“People are going to get hurt, wives, robberies are going to take place by guys who were already in jail, and now they are out,” Tracy said.

The Suffolk County DA’s Office said in a statement that the dismissals are a “continuing threat” to public safety.

“The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety,” the DA’s office said. “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. These are difficult conversations. We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found to address the causal issues here and prevent any repeat.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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