Latest news with #Lavalle
09-07-2025
- Politics
Defendants released in Massachusetts as pay dispute with public defenders remains unresolved
BOSTON -- Defendants are being released in Massachusetts in the wake of a prolonged dispute over pay for the state's public defenders, and one of those set free was charged with a serious crime. The first four defendants without legal representation were freed Monday by a Boston judge following a ruling last week by the state's highest court to implement a process that requires releasing defendants without attorneys after a week. Among them was a man accused of strangling his pregnant girlfriend. Under the so-called Lavallee protocol, more are expected to be released in the coming days unless lawmakers address demands from public defenders for a moderate pay increase. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey didn't include any increase. Public defenders mostly in district courts have refused to take on new cases since May, arguing they are New England's lowest-paid public defenders. 'While the court's decision last week to implement the Lavalle protocols is welcome news and a critical step in making sure that people are not held in custody without lawyers, it is far from a solution to the crisis the courts are in,' said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'Every day that our courts are without bar advocates is another day the criminal legal system isn't running the way that it's supposed to,' she said. 'Without appropriately compensated lawyers in court, the system cannot function." Democratic legislative leaders would need to consider a supplemental budget to accommodate a pay raise, but there were no signs of one in the works. 'The right to legal representation is a crucial element of the Constitutional guarantee to a fair trial," a House spokesman said in an email statement. 'At the same time, the House has a responsibility to Massachusetts taxpayers to ensure that we budget in a fiscally responsible manner, especially during this period of significant economic uncertainty.' Republicans were quick to pounce and suggest Healey, who's up for reelection next year, was to blame. 'This situation is spiraling into a full-blown constitutional crisis and Governor Healey is nowhere to be found," said Paul Craney, executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which promotes fiscal responsibility. A Healey spokesperson, Karissa Hand, said bar advocates deserve a 'fair wage' but expressed concern about the work stoppage. 'Governor Healey is concerned about the negative public safety impacts of this work stoppage,' she said. "She urges all those impacted to work together to reach a resolution and ensure that all defendants receive the representation to which they are entitled.' State Sen. Michael Rodrigues, chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, said he was open to talks but urged public defenders to get back to work. 'We are ready and willing to work with them, but a pre-emptive work stoppage serves only to harm victims, defendants, and the overall justice system,' Rodriques said in a statement. The Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS, which oversees public defenders, petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court to allow the Lavalle protocol to take effect because of the work stoppage. Along with releasing defendants after seven days, the protocol requires that charges be dropped for a defendant lacking legal representation after 45 days. The judge ruled to enact the protocol Thursday. 'Despite good faith efforts by CPCS and the local bar advocate organization(s), there is an ongoing systemic violation of indigent criminal defendants' constitutional rights to effective assistance of counsel due to CPCS's incapacity to provide such assistance," Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt said in her order. As of June 29, the judge noted, there were 1,144 defendants in the district courts of Middlesex and Suffolk counties without attorneys. More than 60 were in custody. Massachusetts is just the latest state struggling to adequately fund its public defender system. In Wisconsin, a two-year state budget signed into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would increase the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. Amid the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most impacted by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases. 'Across the nation, we're seeing a concerning pattern: public defenders and appointed counsel, who are the bedrock of a just criminal legal system, are being financially squeezed," Lisa Wayne, executive director for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said in a statement. 'When their compensation stagnates, it's not just an insult to their dedication; it's a direct assault on the constitutional right to counsel.'
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Defendants released in Massachusetts as pay dispute with public defenders remains unresolved
BOSTON (AP) — Defendants are being released in Massachusetts in the wake of a prolonged dispute over pay for the state's public defenders, and one of those set free was charged with a serious crime. The first four defendants without legal representation were freed Monday by a Boston judge following a ruling last week by the state's highest court to implement a process that requires releasing defendants without attorneys after a week. Among them was a man accused of strangling his pregnant girlfriend. Under the so-called Lavallee protocol, more are expected to be released in the coming days unless lawmakers address demands from public defenders for a moderate pay increase. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey didn't include any increase. Public defenders mostly in district courts have refused to take on new cases since May, arguing they are the lowest-paid public defenders in New England. 'While the court's decision last week to implement the Lavalle protocols is welcome news and a critical step in making sure that people are not held in custody without lawyers, it is far from a solution to the crisis the courts are in,' said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'Every day that our courts are without bar advocates is another day the criminal legal system isn't running the way that it's supposed to,' she said. 'Without appropriately compensated lawyers in court, the system cannot function." Democratic legislative leaders would need to consider a supplemental budget in the coming weeks to accommodate a pay raise, but there was no immediate sign that a plan was in the works. 'The right to legal representation is a crucial element of the Constitutional guarantee to a fair trial," a spokesman for the House said in an email statement. 'At the same time, the House has a responsibility to Massachusetts taxpayers to ensure that we budget in a fiscally responsible manner, especially during this period of significant economic uncertainty.' Republicans were quick to pounce on the issue and suggest Healey, who is up for reelection next year, was to blame. 'This situation is spiraling into a full-blown constitutional crisis and Governor Healey is nowhere to be found," said Paul Craney, the executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which promotes fiscal responsibility, in a statement. The Committee for Public Counsel Services, which oversees public defenders, petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court to allow the Lavalle protocol to take effect due to the work stoppage. Along with releasing defendants after seven days, the protocol also requires that charges be dropped for a defedant lacking legal representation after 45 days. The judge ruled to enact the protocol on Thursday, though she declined to raise the pay rate for public defenders. 'Despite good faith efforts by CPCS and the local bar advocate organization(s), there is an ongoing systemic violation of indigent criminal defendants' constitutional rights to effective assistance of counsel due to CPCS's incapacity to provide such assistance through its staff attorneys or through bar advocates," Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt said in her order, noting as of June 29 that there were 1,144 defendants in the district courts of Middlesex and Suffolk counties without attorneys. More than 60 were in custody. Massachusetts is just the latest state to struggle with ways to adequately fund its public defender system. In Wisconsin, the new two-year state budget signed into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would increase the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so that it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. In a bid to respond to the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most impacted by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Defendants released in Massachusetts as pay dispute with public defenders remains unresolved
BOSTON (AP) — Defendants are being released in Massachusetts in the wake of a prolonged dispute over pay for the state's public defenders, and one of those set free was charged with a serious crime. The first four defendants without legal representation were freed Monday by a Boston judge following a ruling last week by the state's highest court to implement a process that requires releasing defendants without attorneys after a week. Among them was a man accused of strangling his pregnant girlfriend. Under the so-called Lavallee protocol, more are expected to be released in the coming days unless lawmakers address demands from public defenders for a moderate pay increase. The state agency representing public defenders had proposed a pay increase from $65 an hour to $73 an hour over the next two fiscal years for lawyers in district court, an increase from $85 an hour to $105 an hour for lawyers in Superior Court and $120 an hour to $150 an hour for lawyers handling murder cases. But the 2026 fiscal year budget of $60.9 billion signed Friday by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey didn't include any increase. Public defenders mostly in district courts have refused to take on new cases since May, arguing they are the lowest-paid public defenders in New England. 'While the court's decision last week to implement the Lavalle protocols is welcome news and a critical step in making sure that people are not held in custody without lawyers, it is far from a solution to the crisis the courts are in,' said Shira Diner, a lecturer at the Boston University School of Law and the immediate past president of the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. 'Every day that our courts are without bar advocates is another day the criminal legal system isn't running the way that it's supposed to,' she said. 'Without appropriately compensated lawyers in court, the system cannot function.' Democratic legislative leaders would need to consider a supplemental budget in the coming weeks to accommodate a pay raise, but there was no immediate sign that a plan was in the works. 'The right to legal representation is a crucial element of the Constitutional guarantee to a fair trial,' a spokesman for the House said in an email statement. 'At the same time, the House has a responsibility to Massachusetts taxpayers to ensure that we budget in a fiscally responsible manner, especially during this period of significant economic uncertainty.' Republicans were quick to pounce on the issue and suggest Healey, who is up for reelection next year, was to blame. 'This situation is spiraling into a full-blown constitutional crisis and Governor Healey is nowhere to be found,' said Paul Craney, the executive director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, which promotes fiscal responsibility, in a statement. The Committee for Public Counsel Services, which oversees public defenders, petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court to allow the Lavalle protocol to take effect due to the work stoppage. Along with releasing defendants after seven days, the protocol also requires that charges be dropped for a defedant lacking legal representation after 45 days. The judge ruled to enact the protocol on Thursday, though she declined to raise the pay rate for public defenders. 'Despite good faith efforts by CPCS and the local bar advocate organization(s), there is an ongoing systemic violation of indigent criminal defendants' constitutional rights to effective assistance of counsel due to CPCS's incapacity to provide such assistance through its staff attorneys or through bar advocates,' Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt said in her order, noting as of June 29 that there were 1,144 defendants in the district courts of Middlesex and Suffolk counties without attorneys. More than 60 were in custody. Massachusetts is just the latest state to struggle with ways to adequately fund its public defender system. In Wisconsin, the new two-year state budget signed into law last week by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would increase the pay of public defenders and district attorneys in each of the next two years. That comes after the Legislature in 2023 also increased the pay to address rising caseloads, high turnover and low salaries. Public defenders in Minnesota averted a walkout in 2022 that threatened to bring the court system to a standstill. A year later, the legislature came up with more funding for the state Board of Public Defense so that it could meet what the American Bar Association recommends for manageable caseload standards. Oregon, meanwhile, has struggled for years with a critical shortage of court-provided attorneys for low-income defendants. As of Tuesday, nearly 3,500 defendants did not have a public defender, a dashboard from the Oregon Judicial Department showed. Of those, about 143 people were in custody, some for longer than seven days. In a bid to respond to the state's public defense crisis, lawmakers last month approved over $2 million for defense attorneys to take more caseloads in the counties most impacted by the shortage and over $3 million for Oregon law schools to train and supervise law students to take on misdemeanor cases. ___ Associated Press reporters Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Cop fatally hit pedestrian and drove away. Victim's family says Downey police covered it up
The family of a man killed by a Downey police officer in a car-on-pedestrian crash in October is suing the city of Downey and alleging that officials attempted to cover up a fatal hit-and-run. Raymond Lavalle, 48, was hit by a Downey Police Department officer near the San Gabriel River Trail in Santa Fe Springs on Oct. 2, according to the Whittier Police Department, which is responsible for policing in the area. The crash took place about 8:42 p.m., and Lavalle was pronounced dead shortly after Whittier police arrived at the scene at 9 p.m. Lavalle's family says the Downey police officer knowingly fled the scene of the crash, while the city of Downey states that the officer was unaware a person had been hit. On Thursday, Lavalle's mother, Luisa, and his three sons, Joseph, Raymundo and Matthew, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The Whittier Police Department investigated the crash and recommended that the officer involved be charged with vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death, according to department spokesperson Officer Emily Armstrong. Lavalle was unhoused and living in the riverbed at the time of the collision. The L.A. County district attorney's office declined to file criminal charges, concluding that the crash was a tragic accident, according to a statement provided by Downey. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more: Bakersfield detective accused of trying to coerce girl to send explicit material over Instagram Lavalle's family alleges that the officer, whose identity it does not know, was speeding when Lavalle was hit and that the officer was not responding to any emergency or call for service. The family alleges that the officer fled the scene without stopping to render aid, as is required by law, and that Downey then attempted to cover up the incident by failing to issue a news release or notify the family. "This family was kept in the dark for many months about the circumstances of the death of their father from this department because they never contacted this family to let them know that a Downey Police Department officer, while on duty, struck, killed and left him there to die like a dog," attorney Michael Carrillo said at a Tuesday news conference announcing the lawsuit. The city pushed back on the family's allegations, saying that the police officer was pursuing a suspect at the time of the crash and was unaware that a pedestrian was struck. "The collision occurred at low speed in a dark area with poor visibility while the officer was pursuing a suspect who was actively evading the police," the city said in the statement. "After turning southbound from Telegraph Road into an entrance to the San Gabriel River Trail, the officer's vehicle struck a pedestrian seated in the roadway. The officer was not aware of the collision, and the victim was later pronounced deceased on the scene." In the statement, the Downey Police Department extended condolences to the victim's family and friends. The family alleges that the officer hit Lavalle while he was walking with his bike down a driveway toward the San Gabriel River, causing Lavalle to be temporarily lodged underneath the vehicle. The L.A. County medical examiner ruled his cause of death as blunt force trauma. "I know my father would give you his last dollar, give you the clothes off his back, give you his last meal, whatever it was, he'd give it to you because he cared that much about everybody," Joseph Lavalle said at Tuesday's news conference. "I know whether he was in the same situation, he would have definitely stopped and cared for him like it was his own brother." The family is seeking compensatory, general and special damages in an amount to be determined at trial, according to the complaint. It is also seeking punitive damages against the Downey police officer once his or her identity becomes known. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
