My Advocacy for Justice in the FY22 Senate Budget as the Senate Chair of the Judiciary Committee
As the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, I want to highlight my priorities for the FY22 State Budget that pertain to the judicial system. Generally, chairs of joint committees prioritize programs and line items contained within the annual state budget that relate to their committee. A lot of this work happens behind the scenes, yet it can have a major impact on how people’s lives and how they experience justice.
I strive to make budget recommendations that better serve the most vulnerable among us, combat social and racial inequality, and expand programs to ensure a just judicial system for all. Here are my priorities for the Fiscal Year 2022 budget (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) related to the judicial system —
CPCS Bar Advocate Rate Increases: The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) funds criminal defense and certain civil legal services to indigent clients. Currently, bar advocates (i.e. private attorneys who bill CPCS for their services) are paid rates that are not commensurate with the critical work that they do. I support increasing these rates so attorneys can make a living wage and pay back their own student loans from college and law school. I also support increased pay for CPCS staff attorneys who are state employees.
In my role as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, I have spent a lot of time learning about the difficulties Bar Advocates face when running a law practice on these low rates. Jessica LaClair, a Bar Advocate from Northampton, told me, “I am both a solo practitioner and a single parent of two children, raising a family with one income and no safety net. My practice is dedicated to serving the most vulnerable and underprivileged. The pandemic has only added to these demands as incarcerated clients need help advocating for healthcare and many attorneys must do this work without childcare.” Jessica focuses her practice on appellate law and other post-conviction proceedings.
A Bar Advocate constituent, Ellie Hertzberg, told me, “The low rates have caused many excellent, experienced Bar Advocates to stop doing the work. And that does not benefit anyone in Massachusetts. A system should be put in place to increase the rates paid to Bar Advocates now and provide for increases in the future to provide a service that benefits everyone.” Ellie practices criminal defense. Her office is in Maynard, which is in my district.
Prisoners’ Legal Services (PLS): PLS promotes the safe, humane and lawful treatment of Massachusetts prisoners through civil rights litigation, administrative advocacy, client counseling, and outreach to policy makers and the public. Improving prison conditions is one of my top priorities as Senate Judiciary Chair. In my time as a legislator, I have visited prisons and jails dozens of times, including prisons in the district that I represent. At times, I exercise my authority as a legislator to make surprise visits. I work in close partnership with PLS on improving prisons and jails. PLS needs to be well funded so that it can advocate for the thousands of incarcerated people, including those who are in solitary confinement.
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (MHLAC): MHLAC’s mission is to protect vulnerable people with mental health concerns from abuse and to help them access adequate mental health care.
MHLAC Executive Director Phil Kassel highlights “MHLAC’s work on behalf of persons with mental health concerns is particularly urgent at a time that is generating unprecedented stresses for all, but particularly for multiply disadvantaged populations facing discrimination at the intersection of disability and race – by medical providers, in the criminal justice and judicial systems, and in schools.”
Adequate Funding for a Modern Trial Court: I support full funding for the Trial Court to maintain operations as best it can during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trial Court employs over 6,000 employees who work at 97 courthouses and now sometimes virtually. For this year’s budget, I support the Trial Court’s innovative approaches to delivering services to its users through its so-called “modules.” For example, I strongly support the Trial Court’s “module” to hire 10 full-time clinicians to address an increase in court-connected mental health issues. I also support the Trial Court’s “module” to help court users obtain MassHealth upon entering a courthouse if they are uninsured.
Civil Legal Aid: As a former legal aid attorney, I know it is critical that the state increase funding for civil legal services. These services help residents facing eviction and foreclosure, child custody and support issues, denial of health care coverage, unemployment benefits appeals, domestic violence, and elder abuse. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for civil legal aid, especially in the areas of eviction defense and unemployment benefits.
Lynne Parker, Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation’s Executive Director, explained, “Civil legal aid improves the lives of low-income residents of Massachusetts by providing them with advice and representation at no cost when they face serious civil legal issues.
A senior legal aid attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services, Pauline Quirion, told me, “Greater Boston Legal Service helps countless vulnerable people including the elderly, survivors of domestic violence, those who lost their jobs due to COVID, and other vulnerable populations protect their legal rights, fight systemic exploitation and racism, and climb out of or avoid poverty.”
I began my advocacy for these justice budget priorities back in February. The House of Representatives passed their budget on Thursday, April 29th, with some solid increases in many of these areas. I am hopeful that the Senate Ways and Means Committee will also show improvements from last year’s state budget. This progress is built upon the activism made by all of the key stakeholders in the judicial system, many mentioned above, which I’m proud to work with, to improve the delivery of justice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
