Criminal defense lawyers in Franklin County are sounding the alarm on a problem that is reportedly brewing as a result of inadequate compensation from the state.
Bar advocates — private attorneys who accept court appointments — handle about 80% of the public defense cases across Massachusetts, but fewer and fewer are willing to take on the workload due to the pay, which is sometimes less than half that of neighboring states.
“I think it’s an unmitigated disaster,” said Greenfield attorney John Godleski, who is also the supervisor of the county’s bar advocate panel. “We in Franklin County have somehow managed to keep everyone covered, but it is a daily scramble doing it. And it’s unsustainable — eventually we’re just going to run out of threads to pull to keep getting coverage. We just don’t have enough manpower.”
Massachusetts pays bar advocates $65 per hour for representing a client in District Court and $85 for Superior Court, according to a press release circulated by bar advocate Mara Dolan, who is also an elected member of the Governor’s Council. Bar advocates say they are paid far less than their peers in other New England states — Maine pays $158 per hour, New Hampshire pays $125 to $150, New York pays $158 and Rhode Island pays $112 to $142.
“The compensation is so low that we just can’t attract new lawyers to work,” Godleski said, adding that the state Legislature can resolve this issue by increasing bar advocates’ wages. The $60.9 billion budget Gov. Maura Healey signed for fiscal year 2026 didn’t include any increase, and bar advocates in most district courts have refused to take on new cases since May.
He said about 90% of defendants cannot afford an attorney. Godleski noted the Committee for Public Counsel Services handles the cases that bar advocates can’t take.
Defense attorney Isaac Mass said the problem has gone on for so long, likely because bar advocates tend to concentrate on doing quality work.
“Their focus isn’t on compensation, most of the time,” he said. “Their focus is on doing justice.”
Mass said bar advocates are unlikely to turn down cases because they have to support themselves and their families, and because they believe in their work. He also acknowledged that many people hold legal professionals in contempt, especially if they represent criminals.
“We’re probably the least politically popular, publicly compensated people in the commonwealth,” Mass said. “No one likes a lawyer until they need one.”
The situation is coming to a head in places across Massachusetts, as the state Supreme Judicial Court recently implemented a process called the Lavallee Protocol, which requires the release of defendants if they are not assigned an attorney within seven days of their arraignment. One of these defendants is a South Boston man accused of strangling a pregnant woman he was romantically involved with.
“There are not a tremendous amount of unrepresented people locally at this point. There are some, but not a tremendous amount,” Mass said. “It’s only a matter of time before Franklin County is in the same spot as Essex and Middlesex counties.”
Godleski said Thursday that Greenfield District Court has not had a bar advocate on duty for at least 14 days so far this month.
“And August doesn’t look any better, frankly,” he said.
Godleski said Franklin County bar advocates will not be able to fulfill their duties in 18 months if this attrition continues.
“People are retiring … and we just can’t replace them. It’s too expensive to open up your own practice out of law school, when you’ve got the student loans,” he said. “It’s bad. It’s really bad.”
The Erving Police Benevolent Association, Local 121, took to Facebook on July 7 to urge the governor to better compensate bar advocates.
“It’s not often you’ll see a police union advocate for public defenders but everyone deserves a fair wage,” the post reads.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services reports that since May 27, it has worked with 3,253 people lacking legal counsel, and 653 of those were in custody. As of Friday, there were 2,379 defendants without attorneys and 113 of those were in custody.
“We are fully committed to ensuring that every client we serve receives their constitutional right to counsel, even in these extraordinarily challenging circumstances. The shortage of available attorneys willing and able to take cases on behalf of indigent defendants has placed an unprecedented strain on our system, leaving hundreds of individuals without representation, including many who are being held in custody,” Committee for Public Counsel Services Communications Director Robert McGovern Jr. said in a statement. “We appreciate that Justice [Dalila Argaez] Wendlandt has recognized the depth of this crisis and has ordered the implementation of the Lavallee Protocol. As Justice Wendlandt concluded, despite good-faith efforts by CPCS and our bar advocate partners, the commonwealth is facing a systemic violation of the right to counsel that demands immediate action.
“CPCS is actively working to fulfill our constitutional mandate by triaging cases, prioritizing clients in custody, deploying staff attorneys where capacity allows, and engaging daily with private counsel and bar advocate organizations to identify available resources,” the statement continues. “We are also maintaining open lines of communication with court leadership and policymakers to support long-term solutions. Despite the challenges, we are doing everything within our power to ensure that no person is left without the representation they are entitled to under the law.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.