FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON - The right of poor
people to legal counsel was
upheld in an historic decision
issued today by the Supreme
Judicial Court of Massachusetts,
in a lawsuit brought by the
American Civil Liberties Union
of Massachusetts and the
Committee for Public Service
Counsel.
"This is an historic victory in
which the court has reaffirmed
the right to counsel for all
people," said David Hoose of the
law firm Katz, Sasson, Hoose &
Turnbull, who argued the case on
behalf of the ACLU of
Massachusetts. "We are pleased
that the court has recognized
both the seriousness of the
Constitutional violation and the
need for an immediate remedy."
The court
ordered that any person charged
with a crime who does not
receive appointed counsel within
45 days will have his or her
case dismissed,
and people who have been
held for
more than seven days will be
entitled to immediate release
if a lawyer has
not been appointed for them.
The order was issued in response
to cases filed on behalf of more
than 50 people who have been
charged with crimes in Hampden
County, but who have not been
appointed counsel. Some of them
have been imprisoned for more
three months without a lawyer.
The court held that the
petitioners "are being deprived
of their right to counsel under
Article 12 of the Massachusetts
Declaration of Rights, a
deprivation that has resulted in
severe restrictions on their
liberty and other constitutional
interests."
The court further ordered that
"on a showing that no counsel is
available to represent a
particular indigent defendant
despite good faith efforts, such
a defendant may not be held more
than seven days and the criminal
case against such a defendant
may not continue beyond
forty-five days."
"Responsibility for any problems
that may result from this
decision lie squarely at the
feet of the legislature," said
Hoose. "It is a result of their
unwillingness to act to provide
lawyers for poor people."
"We call upon the legislature to
take steps immediately to ensure
that our clients will have
competent representation from
their very first court
appearance forward," Hoose
added. "They could do that by
raising rates for hiring private
counsels or by hiring additional
public defenders. The only other
alternative is to put these
people on the streets."
The court's opinion is online at
http://www.socialaw.com/sjcslip/sjcJuly04k.html