The state's public defenders are refusing to take new cases, pointing out that even with a recently approved raise they are still among the lowest-paid in the nation. A court has ruled that it's illegal to keep poor defendants in prison for more than 7 days, so several have been released because no attorney could be found for them.

Governor Romney has filed a bill to wrest control of the state's public-defender agency away from the judicial system, saying he wants to force the public defenders to either start taking new cases or be banned from such work forever.

Who's right? What's the solution to the impasse?
Read the story: Romney seeks to seize control of public defenders

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The only solution to the problem is to pay these attorney's a liveable wage. It is appalling that lawyers in the DA's office and these public defenders start at 35K. These highly educated, hard working indivduals should be making at least double what they are currently making. It is a disgrace.

Mike, West Roxbury

Romney is a demagogue with no sense of decency who acts as though everyone should be his servant at his price until he no longer needs them. Massachusetts is not an old inefficient corporation but a Commonwealth of citizens. People who are drawn by Romney's view should consider finding a church and focusing on their relationship to their fellow humans.Defending accused people is difficult work, and defending indigent criminals takes skill and real dedication. It pays very little, and it's only real reward is saving lives and reversing injustice. A person of Romney's class fresh out of law school can bill hundreds of dollars per hour to do routine corporate work. In legal services, I never got enough to support my family although I lived more frugally than many welfare recipients. It is time to stop demonizing accused people, and stop acting as though public disparagement and paranoia are the same thing as real policy, real security, police work and justice. Controlling a public forum, i.e., being in the Governor's Office, should not be a license to mouth off at each day's events, or to revive the blindness of the English upper classes in 1820, or the public propaganda of Italy or Germany in the 1930s. Shame!

Mike , Boston

Solution: Fire Romney.

David, Somerville

It's simple, pay the lawyers the market rate. There's no way that you can force them to work for less than their worth. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

Joe, Quincy

Do the folks complaining about making a mere pittance of $60K a year forget the benefits that being a public defender affords them? A great opportunity to PRACTICE law and get real client experience and even courtroom time and name exposure that will likely lead to a reputation and private clients and a private practice? To demand higher pay would only force higher taxes! Should they be paid more than the policeman that stands in the line of fire bringing in these "gimme" clients?

Dan, Boston

The governor should NOT be attempting to seize control of the public defenders' office. What he and the Attorney General should be doing is working with state and local bar associations to encourage criminal defense firms to take on the overload as pro bono work. Another alternative would be to establish clinics at the law schools in Massachusetts where law students could work on the overload under the auspices of a trained attorney.

K., Milford

You people are crazy. If 37 bucks an hour (almost $80,000 a year based on a 40 hour work week) is not enough for the defense of the scum of the earth in your opinions, then you simply have been "lawyered" to death. Understandable in our overly sensitive, overly politicized, overly mediacized, overly legalized country. You read the papers, it appears that about three or four times a year, some sex offender, who was released from jail by the aid of these public defenders you are praising, goes out and destroys the life of a young child or woman. I ask you all, quite simply, where are your priorities? Wake up. We should take that 37 dollars an hour and give it to teachers, or back to the taxpayers, then spend it on defending people who, for the most part, deserve to rot in prison.

Rand, Uxbridge

First of all, the governor needs to stop grandstanding and refrain from fighting his battles in the press. His knack for knee jerk reactions in public is sad and destructive. Second, public defenders should remain a part of the judicial branch and under their management. The governor, nor the executive branch, should have any direct control over the office of public defenders. This is why there are separate branches written in the Massachusetts Constitution- to prevent a megolomaniac, out of touch governor from attempting to control the way the entire state operates. Third, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Governor Romney must realise that it is the right of defendants to receive good legal representation which means those people defending them must be paid a fair and equitable wage to be able to properly defend them. The 3 alleged drug dealers set free that inspired the governor's reaction are "alleged" and, therefore, deserving of proper legal counsel. Governor Romney must also realize, unlike him and his Bain cronies, not everyone can afford top price legal counsel and not everyone can afford to "donate" their time.

David, South Boston

While I have no sympathy for high priced lawyers, if the state can afford to pay the police untold amounts of money to stand around drinking coffee at construction sites, then we should be able to pay lawyers a reasonable fee. By the same token, these lawyers should give these defendants the same level of service and protection that is afforded to the people who are able to afford to hire a good lawyer (and the state should see to that as well).

Denis, Malden

The solution is to pay the lawyers more than $40 an hour. As part of a bigger long term picture, decriminalizing possession of small amounts of drugs would do away with a lot of cases. Needless to say, it should still be illegal to drive under the influence of drugs; treat it like alcohol. And for the record, I never do drugs, just advocating common sense.

Chris, Boston