Charges dropped against more than 120 defendants in Massachusetts because they can't get attorney (www.yahoo.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world to c/usa@lemmy.ml

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BOSTON (AP) — More than 120 cases, including some for assault on family members and police, were dismissed Tuesday in Boston, the latest fallout from a monthslong dispute over pay that has led public defenders to stop taking new clients.

At a mostly empty courtroom, Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy-Lee Lyons invoked the Lavallee protocol in dismissing case after case. It requires cases be dropped if a defendant hasn't had an attorney for 45 days and released from custody if they haven't had one for seven days. Tuesday was the first time it was invoked to drop cases, while suspects in custody have been released in recent weeks.

Most were for minor crimes like shoplifting, drug possession and motor vehicle violations.

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[-] IphtashuFitz@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

I was called for MA jury duty yesterday. It was a smaller courthouse that only deals with misdemeanor cases. In MA they only use 6 person juries for these cases.

8 out of 21 jurors failed to show up for whatever reason. The judge tried to seat a jury for two separate trials, but after attorney challenges etc. he could only seat 5. We were then sent home, and I assume both of those cases have been rescheduled for later dates.

I hope those defendants get similar treatment if the state is unable to proceed with trials after multiple attempts to empanel juries…

this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2025

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