At least the judges got a raise....
"Criminal justice lawyers are becoming ‘working poor,’ study says" by John R. Ellement | Globe staff May 08, 2014
Massachusetts must immediately increase salaries paid to public defenders and prosecutors, some of whom qualify as the working poor, to assure that the rights of the innocent are protected and the guilty are justly imprisoned, a Massachusetts Bar Association study has found.
The report said that Massachusetts ranks dead last in annual salaries paid to public defenders through the Committee for Public Counsel Services and that county prosecutors often are the lowest-paid person in a courtroom, finishing behind custodial workers.
We are in so many things, be it the DCF, women in government, inequality in income, or anything el$e you can think of; the only thing we out front in is gay marriage.
The study was conducted by the MBA’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Criminal Justice Attorney Compensation, which included a current and former judge, bar association officials, defense attorneys, and former district attorneys.
“The unvarnished truth is the compensation is so poor that it drives these lawyers away from the criminal justice system or into the ranks of the working poor,’’ the MBA panel found. “Massachusetts prides itself as a national leader in most fields, including the law. But in compensation of criminal justice lawyers, it ranks dead last.’’
Nooooooooooooooo!!
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Salaries must be tied to cost-of-living increases, something that lawyers for other government agencies frequently receive, but which has never been provided for criminal justice attorneys, the panel found....
Martin W. Healy, chief legal counsel for the bar association, said the panel also learned that many public defenders and prosecutors work second jobs.
“The vast majority of criminal justice attorneys are supplementing their income through second jobs, and many of those jobs are in the hospitality industry,” Healy said. “They are working as bartenders, as waiters, and waitresses. They are not living an extravagant lifestyle.’’
Give 'em up because we need them!
Hogging two jobs all to yourselves! Out to be a$hamed of your$elves!
Or is it part of the job? Get a job so you can spy on people?
He said the issue is important to the public, not just the attorneys themselves.
“There is definitely a public safety aspect to all of it,’’ Healy said. “Some of the individuals are beating charges they ought not to be, and then get back out on the street.
But if they are and are raising hell, the police will need more money and the surveillance will need to be increased.
Who benefits?
“And the innocent person standing before the court can be hurt, as well. Tax dollars are not being spent in a wise and appropriate fashion.”
Oh, yeah, us, right.
The panel also called for an overhaul of the rules for what is known as the Private Counsel Division in the state’s public defender agency. Massachusetts has a small number of public defenders, and, in addition, pays for private lawyers known as “bar advocates” to represent indigent clients.
“The responsibilities and accomplishments of our criminal justice attorneys deserve and demand better treatment,” the special committee concluded.
I no longer believe in "our" ju$tice $y$tem after all I have $een.
Sorry.
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