GLOBE EDITORIAL
Showdown in the courtsTHE CAUSE of justice for the poor turned into a political battle this week. Efforts to raise the hourly rates of lawyers who represent indigent clients has led to the release of three defendants charged with dealing drugs, turning a salary dispute into a safety threat.
Outrage has exploded. But what the state needs is a rational plan. Massachusetts uses public defenders and private lawyers to serve poor clients. After years of warnings, frustrated private lawyers have begun to refuse these cases because the state's hourly rates are among the lowest in the country -- from $37.50 for district court cases to $61.50 for murder cases. Last month, responding to a lawsuit filed in Hampden County, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that poor clients were being deprived of their right to counsel. The court's remedy: Prisoners in Hampden County who cannot get lawyers within 45 days have their cases dismissed. And those held for more than seven days without a lawyer are released. Yesterday Governor Romney announced his own drastic proposals. He would move the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which under state law oversees the work of lawyers for the poor, into the executive branch. And he would bar lawyers who currently refuse to take cases from future public sector work. Both ideas are ill advised. The work of defending the poor should remain outside the executive branch, far from a governor's political agenda. And it's unfair to expect private lawyers to subsidize the state by working for pay that is too low. The Legislature's recent increase of $7.50 per hour is a small step. But reasonable pay for this work should start at $60 per hour. Attorney General Thomas Reilly says the court should have proceeded more slowly, assessing the state's capacity to provide lawyers and avoiding the current situation. He says the court should stop releasing defendants and that for now the public counsel committee should take up the slack by increasing public defender caseloads. The courts could compel lawyers to take cases. But this could scare them away in the future. And with more cases, already overburdened public defenders could be spread too thin. Relief may be on the horizon. The Legislature passed a bill establishing a commission to examine how best to provide legal services for the poor and issue findings in February. What's needed now is an immediate fix. William Leahy, the head of the public counsel committee, would like to see a consensus among the governor, legislative leaders, the attorney general, and district attorneys.
Consensus might be a variation on Reilly's proposals. But the key is to develop a plan that protects both public safety and individual rights. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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