Lowell judge condemns prosecutors’ handling of cases amid lawyer shortage crisis
A Lowell District Court judge on Wednesday morning criticized Middlesex County prosecutors for what he described as an unwillingness to work collaboratively amid the ongoing public defender crisis in the state's court system.
Judge John Coffey made the comments during a series of so-called Lavallee hearings on Wednesday. The hearings began last month when a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court instituted the protocol under the same name. Under the protocol, defendants who don't have lawyers are entitled to be released from jail after a week and have their cases dismissed after 45 days.
The cases before Coffey on Wednesday were for both 7-day and 45-day hearings.
But while the roughly a dozen defendants who appeared before Coffey for 45-day hearings Wednesday were entitled to have their cases dismissed, many opted to wait in limbo for when a public defender becomes available. That's because prosecutors indicated they would refile cases if Coffey dismissed them.
If they did so, Coffey explained, the defendants' probation records would multiply, even though they didn't face charges in connection with some other incident.
Among those who opted not to have his case dismissed was Vincent Frazier, who is charged with misdemeanor assault and battery and threat to commit a crime. Fraizer's case was filed on June 9, meaning he has gone nearly two months without representation.
"It's not our fault," Frazier said in an interview after the hearing. "I'm a union guy, so I'm for the lawyers. I hope they get what they want. But there has to be some kind of, some kind of give and take here, because I can't just keep coming to court and missing work and doing this and that, because they can't get their [expletive] straight."
Private defense attorneys known as bar advocates represent about 80% of criminal defendants in Massachusetts who can't afford their own lawyers. Since late May, many of the lawyers have stopped taking new cases amid a pay dispute.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS, represents the other 20%. Since the stoppage began, the agency has been prioritizing the most serious cases that come through the state's court system.
Gov. Maura Healey approved a raise for public defenders on Tuesday, but there is still no end in sight for the work stoppage since the lawyers say the pay increase was not sufficient.
Coffey appeared to empathize with the predicament Frazier and others found themselves in.
"Your rights have been trampled on since May 27," he said. "It's absolutely not your fault."
But it was the case of Lisa Marie Hodgson that drew Coffey's ire.
Hodgson is charged with a single misdemeanor count of wanton destruction of property for an incident where she said she broke a $30 camera.
Coffey found that because Hodgson didn't face any jail time in connection with the charge, she wasn't eligible for a court-appointed lawyer. He moved to set a date for a bench trial for her, but Hodgson pleaded with the judge to dismiss the case.
"I don't care if they re-file. I just want you to dismiss it and let them do what they have to do. I can't do this anymore," she said, her voice shaking.
An assistant Middlesex district attorney confirmed prosecutors intended to refile the case.
"The Middlesex District Attorney's office has been less than collaborative in their duty under the protocol," Coffey said. "Shame on the commonwealth if they ever bring this case back."
Spokespeople for the district attorney's office did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state's public defender agency, has asked the state's high court to refine the protocol to allow prosecutors to reopen cases by simply filing a motion, rather than filing a new complaint. Doing so would allow defendants to avoid the issue Coffey explained Wednesday: where their probation records would grow despite not being charged with a new offense.
CPCS has also sought to bar prosecutors from reopening cases until after the protocol is lifted. It's not yet clear when that will happen, as bar advocates appear unlikely to go back to work anytime soon.
Lavallee Protocol
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