Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Budget Hole – in access to justice – with remedy

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As a practical matter, line item 0321-1510 is always underfunded.  Many are.  It may be that there is a hope that “there will be more tax revenue later” or that “we won’t need to pay these folks, we will need fewer hours service than the agency thinks.”

The actual impact on the attorneys who are dedicated enough to accept below market pay scales to represent the indigent is that many years, there is a BIG wait for payment.

In 2003, that wait was up to five months.  Attorneys I know were facing foreclosure on their homes.  In FY 06 it was only six weeks or so [which means many attorneys had to wait 4 months to be paid for work done because many categories of case work can only be billed January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1.  So if the work is done in January, say, it cannot be billed until April for those areas of law. 

But, at any event, the work of the Rogers Commission/Commission on Representation of the Indigent indicated that by decrimilizing certain types of non-violent, low level offenses there were saving to be had and a further commission should investigate.  Never happened.

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Comments

  1. Do you have any information on legislation for the current session to implement the Commission’s findings on de-criminalization?  From taking a quick look at the report it seems that there is widespread consensus to support the recommendations.  Wouldn’t DA’s want to move this forward so the ~2Mill/year savings could be used more effectively?

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    It should be remembered, that while the woefully underpaid human service workers are paid less an hour, such workers also do not have the mandated expenses of private attorneys who accept court appointments.

    Many human service workers working in private clinics are now fee-for-service and have the expenses above, licensing, health insurance, continuing education requirements and have incurred the education costs of masters degrees and are making under $25/hour. That rate may differ for metro Boston.

    • 1)  I did not know that “fee for service” independent contractors to the state also paid all their own expenses; I thought they were employed by agencies, and so were provided offices, had health insurance, etc.  What is the percentage, do you know?

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      2)  The Commission to work on decriminalization, to the best of my “hawk-eyed” and careful scrutiny has never been appointed – so, nothing done on this.

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      3)  DAs currently are in TOTAL control of decriminalization and, as far as I know, like it that way so the energy to get decriminalization going on the “low grade, nonviolent” offenses will NOT, in my opinion, come form DAs.

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