July 29, 2005
HEALEY SIGNS BILL REFORMING SYSTEM FOR INDIGENT COUNSEL
Legislation calls for pay increase, changes to improve efficiency and effectiveness
BOSTON - Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey today signed legislation providing for a pay increase for lawyers who represent indigent defendants and instituting reforms in the manner in which the state provides this constitutionally-required service.
"This is a good result, with many new reforms that will improve and make more efficient the system for providing legal services to the indigent," said Healey, who signed the bill in the absence of Governor Mitt Romney.
"The Legislature deserves credit for taking a comprehensive approach and recognizing that an increase in pay alone does not address some of the serious caseload issues affecting the system," said Healey.
The bill, which was enacted by the Legislature yesterday, is largely consistent with the recommendations of a special commission that looked at the system for paying private attorneys, or "bar advocates," who contract with the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), a state agency.
The legislation calls for an across the board increase for bar advocates so that they will receive an hourly fee of $50 for District Court and family law work, $60 for Superior Court and $100 for homicide cases. The previous scale ranged from $37.50 to a high of $61.50.
Among the reforms are a cap on billing at 1400 hours, stricter provisions for the verification of indigency, new CPCS offices in each district with 10 permanent full-time public defenders assigned to each and the hiring of 20 new public defenders to focus on juvenile and family law matters.
One of the major reforms proposed by the special commission and supported by the Governor would have immediately redefined certain misdemeanor offenses so as to remove the requirement of appointed counsel. While the bill did not include this provision, it does enhance the courts' power to treat misdemeanor offenses as civil rather than criminal, thereby eliminating the requirement of appointed counsel. The legislation also establishes a permanent commission to study the impact of reclassifying misdemeanor offenses.
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