Recently, Massachusetts has been making headlines on every news channel streamed in the USA, as the public defense in Massachusetts has been facing an immense crisis because of the ongoing disputes over pay for the public defenders and advocates of the bar.
Over the disputes, all the working has been stopped, and many attorneys are not taking new cases. This has led to defendants’ release from custody, and many cases have been dismissed because of a lack of representation.
The Future of Public Defense in Massachusetts
The ongoing issue of public defense and disputes among the bar council members has created huge mismanagement, and because of this, many defendants who have committed serious crimes are getting released, as there is no one to represent them.
As of now, four of the defendants are being released and set free at the start of July 2025 by a judge in Boston. And after that, the same judge released a ruling to go with a process that will release defendants without the need for an attorney to represent them. Among the four, there was a man who had committed murder and was accused of strangling his girlfriend, who was pregnant at that time.
The protocol of releasing defendants without an attorney is called the Lavallee protocol. And after the implementation of the protocol, it is expected that more criminals will be released in the coming days unless the demand of the advocates and the attorneys is fulfilled. They have demanded a moderate increase in their pay. The agency that represents the public defenders had initiated a proposal a pay an increase for the upcoming 2 fiscal years from
- $65 per hour to $73 per hour for all the lawyers in the district court.
- $85 per hour to $105 per hour for all the lawyers working in the Supreme Court.
- $120 per hour to $150 per hour for those lawyers who are handling cases for murders.
But the problem has arisen when the budget for the next year didn’t include any pay raise. Upon seeing the budget of 2026, public defenders in the district courts have now refused to take on any new case, and this has been going on since May 2025.
The solution to this was the initiation of the lavalle protocol, which, in fact, is no solution at all. Although it is an important step in ensuring no person is held in custody without lawyers but what about those criminals who have committed serious crimes like murders?
What is the Lavalle protocol?
Generally, the Lavalle protocol refers to a set of procedures that is designed to protect all privileged information during the time of search warrants. It is implemented when the warrant involves such documents that may have some privileged information.
In the case of Massachusetts, the judge has implemented the so-called Lavalle protocol to maintain the flow of working in the court, and because of this, many defendants who have committed dangerous crimes are getting released. As of now, all four who were released in July 2025 were kept in captivity for more than 7 days, but there were no attorneys available to represent them. They were released after implementing the Lavalle protocol.
When did the crisis start?
This crisis and the stoppage of the work started just after Memorial Day. The refusal to work was started by the majority of the advocates and lawyers in the state who were appointed to do defence work, which was given by the court.
The public defenders who are working on a full-time basis cover almost 20% of the cases that are court-appointed specifically for the indigent clients. The rest of the cases are looked over by the bar advocates, bar advocates are private attorneys who take these cases as “duty days” and work additionally to their private work.
Now, both the bar attorneys and the public defenders have been underpaid as compared to the other states, and both of them have refused to take on further cases. According to attorneys, this crisis is no longer a state issue but has reached a critical state, and if there is no immediate action taken, it will break down the whole system.
Recent Updates on the Situation of Public Defence in Massachusetts
- Complete stoppage of work
The public defenders working in the courts of Massachusetts have refused to take any new cases as they are demanding a basic pay raise and some additional benefits.
- Release of Defendants
As the attorneys have refused to take on a new case and work, there is no one present to represent the defendants. And this included such defendants too, those who have been accused of serious crimes and are now getting releases from custody because of the Lavalle protocol.
- Pay disputes
The main reason all of this is happening is that the public defence’s request for an increase in pay has not been fulfilled. The pay of these public defenders and advocates of the bar has been very low compared to that of neighboring states.
- Impact on public safety
There is a high concern over the crisis as it is causing delays in the prosecution and also overcrowding jails. And the release of these criminals has made the people of the state concerned about their safety and their families.
As of now, more than 120 cases have been dismissed due to the ongoing crisis in the state, and some of the cases involve assault on police and family members. This issue now requires national attention and should be solved immediately. Cases like assaulting police officers, punching and slapping a pregnant girlfriend, and assaulting a child (by the father) have been dismissed by the court because of the unavailability of public defenders and bar advocates.
Many prosecutors have been frustrated over the dropping of the cases, mainly those that were serious cases of sexual assault and harassment. This issue has raised questions about the judiciary of the USA, and one thing remains constant: public safety needs representation, and to make it work, the representatives have to be paid well and, most importantly, fairly. To date, there has been any action taken to resolve the issue. This is a huge downfall in the judiciary system of the country.
