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Case Name
Lavallee v. Justices in Hampden Superior Court
PD-MA-0001
Docket / Court
SJ-2004-0198,199 ( State Court )
State/Territory
Massachusetts
Case Type(s)
Indigent Defense
Attorney Organization
ACLU Chapters (any)
Legal Services/Legal Aid
Case Summary
On May 6, 2004, nineteen indigent criminal defendants with cases pending in Hampden County, Massachusetts, filed a lawsuit in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, pursuant to state law, claiming that they didn't have attorneys due to a shortage of lawyers in the Hampden County bar advocates ...
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On May 6, 2004, nineteen indigent criminal defendants with cases pending in Hampden County, Massachusetts, filed a lawsuit in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, pursuant to state law, claiming that they didn't have attorneys due to a shortage of lawyers in the Hampden County bar advocates program. The shortage was caused by the low rate of attorney compensation authorized by the state budget. The petitioners alleged that due to the underfunding, there were no longer a sufficient number of private attorneys willing to accept assignment of petitioners' cases. Petitioners asked the court to exercise its statutory or inherent powers of superintendence, as well as seeking a declaration that the trial judges could order that assigned counsel be compensated at a higher rate. Petitioners were represented by lawyers from the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Committee for Public Counsel Services, and private firms.
On July 28, 2004 the court (Spina, J.) concluded that inadequate compensation of counsel amounted to a deprivation of the constitutional right to counsel. The court ruled that no defendant entitled to a court-appointed attorney should be required to wait longer than forty-five days for an attorney to file an appearance. If such appearance was not made within forty-five days, the court held, the case against the defendant should be dismissed without prejudice. An indigent defendant held in lieu of bail or under an order of preventive detention could not be held more than seven days without counsel before the case was to be dismissed without prejudice. However, the court held that it was inappropriate for the Supreme Judicial Court to order judges to authorize compensation rates above what the legislature had determined is appropriate. Lavallee v. Justices In Hampden Superior Court, 442 Mass. 228, 812 N.E.2d 895 (2004).
Next, the case was sent to the Supreme Judicial Court to determine the appropriate mechanism for putting into place the forty-five and seven day deadlines. Justice Spina apparently held a hearing on the matter on August 6, 2004 vacating the matter of one of the indigent defendants and remanding the matters of the others to determine whether to impose probationary conditions or to simply release the defendant. On August 17, 2004 Justice Spina made an interim order allowing judges in arraignment sessions to assign counsel from lists created with the Regional Administrative Justice for the Superior Court for the western region and to compensate them as per the rates approved by the legislature.
The case is apparently closed.
Dayna Frenkel - 02/18/2009
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Crowding
Crowding / caseload
General
Funding
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Causes of Action
State law
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Justices in the Hampden Superior Court
Plaintiff Description
Indigent defendants in criminal cases that were not afforded counsel due to a shortage of lawyers in Hampden County due to budget restraints. While not officially certified as a class action, the judgment applies to any other indigent criminal defendant.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
ACLU Chapters (any)
Legal Services/Legal Aid
Class action status sought
Yes
Class action status granted
Yes
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Mixed
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
Declaratory Judgment
Source of Relief
Litigation
Filed
05/06/2004
Case Closing Year
2004
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
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Securing Reasonable Caseloads: Ethics and Law in Public Defense
Date: 2011
By: Norman Lefstein (Indiana University--Indianapolis Faculty)
Citation: (ABA 2011)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel.
Date: Apr. 14, 2009
By: National Right to Counsel Committee (The Constitution Project)
Citation: National Right to Counsel Committee, Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
[ External Link ]
The Third Generation of Indigent Defense Litigation
New York University Review of Law and Social Change
Date: 2009
By: Cara Drinan (Columbus School of Law, Catholic University Faculty)
Citation: 33 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 427 (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Indigent Defense Reform: The Role of Systemic Litigation in Operationalizing the Gideon Right to Counsel
Date: May 7, 2007
By: Vidhya K. Reddy (Washington University in St. Louis Law Student)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
State Supreme Court
10/24/2008
PD-MA-0001-9001.pdf
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Detail
Source: State Court Website
General Documents
State Supreme Court
07/28/2004
Opinion
(812 N.E.2d 895)
PD-MA-0001-0001.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Google Scholar
People
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Judges
Cowin, William I.
(State Appellate Court)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Greaney, John M.
(State Supreme Court)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Ireland, Roderick L.
(State Supreme Court)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Marshall, Margaret H.
(State Supreme Court)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Spina, Francis X
(State Supreme Court)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Hoose, David P.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Keehn, Benjamin H
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Leahy, William J.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Newman, William C.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Reinstein, John
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Silverman, Andrew R.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Wynn, Patricia A.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Defendant's Lawyers
Kehoe, Ronald F.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-0001 | PD-MA-0001-9001
Kerrigan, David R.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Other Lawyers
Allaire, Kristina H.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Barshak, Edward J.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Berliner, Wendy A.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Cinquegrana, Ralph J.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Dineen Jerrett, Melissa L.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Good, Andrew
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Healy, Martin W.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Kennedy, Mary J.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Machado, Paul J.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
McGinty, Charles P.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Rosenfeld, Arnold R.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Schwab, Terrence M.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
Van Nostrand, Richard C.
(Massachusetts)
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PD-MA-0001-9001
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