Justice Hinges on Fair Pay for Court-Appointed Lawyers
Document Type
Letter to the Editor
Publication Date
6-16-2026
Publisher
Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC
Language
en-US
Abstract
Massachusetts is in the midst of a constitutional breakdown in its criminal legal system (“Mass needs competitive pay for defense lawyers,” Editorial, June 12). In courts across the Commonwealth, individuals are being held in jail for days — not because they’ve been convicted of anything but because the state cannot find them a lawyer. Others remain in legal limbo, unable to proceed with their cases at all, because no attorney has been appointed to represent them. This is the direct result of a systemic failure that has been ignored for too long.
Recommended Citation
Shira M. Diner,
Justice Hinges on Fair Pay for Court-Appointed Lawyers
,
Boston Globe
(2026).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/shorter_works/309
Publisher URL
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/16/opinion/letters-to-the-editor-fair-pay-court-appointed-lawyers/
