Two Springfield, Mass., Defendants Allowed To Leave Jail Due To Lawyer Shortage

A judge in Springfield, Massachusetts, has released two criminal defendants from jail because they have not been given a state-funded defense lawyer.

Dermot Weaver was charged with trespassing and attempting to commit a crime, and Ivan Quinones was charged with vandalism and resisting arrest. Neither can afford a lawyer.

State law says indigent defendants kept longer than seven days must be released if they're not given an attorney funded by the state.

Attorney Don Frank is with Hampden County Lawyers for Justice. The organization helps oversee a system of private attorneys, called "bar advocates," who agree to defend poor clients when there are not enough public defenders employed by the state.

Since the organization cannot find enough private attorneys, Frank said he successfully petitioned the court to release Weaver and Quinones into the community, 

"You need enough criminal defense lawyers to make the system work," he said. "We can't keep qualified criminal defense laywers in our system because they're not getting paid enough."

Frank said he rarely takes on cases as a bar advocate himself because the state's pay — approximately $50 an hour — is about a quarter of what defense lawyers make in the private sector.

Frank said the shortage among public defenders and bar advocates is at a particularly low point. He's only heard of two other cases of defendants being released for lack of lawyer since the 2004 law went into effect.

Weaver and Quinones are required to reappear in court later this month, according to the clerk's office. Frank said his group will try to find them defense lawyers in the meantime. According to state law, their case could be dismissed if no lawyer is found after 45 days.

The Hampden County District Attorney's office said no one was available for comment.