Supreme Judicial Court for the Commonwealth Full Court: SJC-12777 Filed: 10/17/2019 3:46 PM COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS Supreme Judicial Court NO. SJC-12777 FREDDIE CARRASQUILLO, and all other similarly situated defendants in Hampden County, PETITIONERS-APPELLANTS, v. HAMPDEN COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS, RESPONDENT-APPELLEE. ON RESERVATION AND REPORT FROM THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF SUFFOLK BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE HAMPDEN COUNTY LAWYERS FOR JUSTICE AND THE MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS-APPELLANTS David P. Hoose, BBO #239400 Chauncey B. Wood, BBO #600354 HAMPDEN COUNTY LAWYERS FOR MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION OF JUSTICE CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS 50 State Street 50 Congress Street, Suite 600 Springfield, MA 01103 Boston, MA 02109 (413) 732-7110 (617) 776-1851 [email protected] [email protected] Robert E. McDonnell, BBO #331470 Matthew R. Segal, BBO #654489 Timothy P. Burke, BBO #558893 Jessica Lewis, BBO #704229 Matthew T. Bohenek, BBO #684659 AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS, LLP FOUNDATION OF MASSACHUSETTS, INC. One Federal Street 211 Congress Street Boston, MA 02110 Boston, MA 02110 (617) 951-8000 (617) 482-3170 [email protected] [email protected] 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ................................................................................... 4 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT ....................................................... 8 RULE 17(C)(5) DECLARATION ........................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 9 INTEREST OF THE AMICI CURIAE ................................................................. 11 STATEMENT OF THE CASE AND THE FACTS .............................................. 11 I. Low and occasionally nonexistent compensation is fueling a shortage of lawyers to represent indigent criminal defendants ........................................................................... 12 II. These problems are especially acute in Hampden County ............... 15 III. The crisis is threatening to metastasize ............................................. 16 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ............................................................................. 18 ARGUMENT ......................................................................................................... 20 I. As applied to Hampden County, the compensation rates prescribed by G. L. c. 211D, § 11(a) violate defendants’ right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment and Article 12 ....................................................................................................... 20 A. The right to counsel requires states to spend money to adequately fund indigent defense ....................................... 21 B. As applied to Hampden County, the compensation rates of § 11(a) cause a systemic denial of counsel ................ 25 C. To remedy systemic violations of the right to counsel, the Court can and should order an increase in compensation rates................................................ 29 II. The Court also can and should remedy the Hampden County counsel crisis as an exercise of its superintendence power ...................................................................... 31 2 III. As an exercise of its authority to remedy systemic violations of the right to counsel, and as an exercise of its inherent authority to ensure the proper functioning of the judiciary, this Court should impose a range of solutions for the Hampden County counsel crisis ............................................ 34 A. The Court Should Authorize Bar Advocates to Invoice the Commonwealth for Fees Above and Beyond the Amount Paid by CPCS ........................................ 35 B. The Court could also strengthen the Lavallee protocol by requiring or urging prosecutors to exercise their discretion to dismiss cases with prejudice .................................................................................. 37 C. The Court should improve the administration of justice in Hampden County ..................................................... 38 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 40 ADDENDUM ........................................................................................................ 42 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE .............................................................................. 43 3 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Page(s) Cases Abodeely v. Worcester County, 352 Mass. 719 (1967) ............................................................................. 23, 28, 32 Brach v. Chief Justice of Dist. Court Dep’t, 386 Mass. 528 (1982) ......................................................................................... 32 Bridgeman v. Dist. Attorney for Suffolk Dist., 476 Mass. 298 (2017) (Bridgeman II) .......................................................... 17, 37 Commonwealth v. Hardy, 2 Mass. (Tyng) 303 (1807) ................................................................................. 22 Commonwealth v. Porter, 462 Mass. 724 (2012) ......................................................................................... 23 Commonwealth v. Torres, 442 Mass. 554 (2004) ......................................................................................... 25 County of Barnstable v. Commonwealth, 410 Mass. 326 (1996) ................................................................................... 31, 32 Delle Chiaie v. Commonwealth, 367 Mass. 527 (1975) ......................................................................................... 25 Deputy Chief Counsel for Pub. Defender Div. of Comm. for Pub. Counsel Servs. v. Acting First Justice of Lowell Div. of Dist. Court Dep’t, 477 Mass. 178 (2017) (Deputy Chief Counsel) .................................................. 22 Doe v. Police Comm’r of Bos., 460 Mass. 342 (2011) ......................................................................................... 30 Duncan v. State, 284 Mich. App. 246 (2009) ................................................................................ 30 4 First Justice of Bristol Div. of Juvenile Court Dep’t v. Clerk- Magistrate of Bristol Div. of Juvenile Court Dep’t, 438 Mass. 387 (2003) (First Justice) .................................................................. 30 Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) .....................................................................................passim Grady v. Treasurer of the County of Worcester, 352 Mass. 702 (1967) ......................................................................................... 22 Gray v. Commissioner of Revenue, 422 Mass. 666 (1996) ......................................................................................... 32 Hurrell-Harring v. State, 15 N.Y.3d 8 (2010) ............................................................................................. 23 Kuren v. Luzerne County, 637 Pa. 33 (2016) .......................................................................................... 23, 24 Lavallee v. Justices in the Hampden Superior Court, 442 Mass. 228 (2004) ..................................................................................passim Luckey v. Harris, 860 F.2d 1012 (11th Cir. 1988) .......................................................................... 27 Maas v. Olive, 992 So. 2d 196 (Fla. 2008) ................................................................................. 32 State ex rel. Missouri Pub. Defender Comm’n v. Waters, 370 S.W.3d 592 (Mo. 2012) ............................................................................... 37 New York County Lawyers’ Ass’n v. New York, 196 Misc. 2d 761 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2003) .................................................. 24, 29, 35 O’Coin’s Inc. v. Treas. of Worcester County, 362 Mass. 507 (1972) ....................................................................... 31, 32, 33, 34 Rothgery v. Gillespie County, Tex., 554 U.S. 191 (2008) ...................................................................................... 25, 26 Simmons v. State Pub. Defender, 791 N.W.2d 69 (Iowa 2010) ................................................................... 23, 27, 31 5 State v. Quitman County, 807 So.2d 401 (Miss. 2001) ................................................................................ 32 State v. Young, 143 N.M. 1 (2007) .................................................................................. 23, 25, 30 Sullivan v. Chief Justice for Admin. & Mgt. of the Trial Court, 448 Mass. 15 (2006) ........................................................................................... 33 Walsh v. Commonwealth, SJC-12648 ..................................................................................................... 16, 35 Wilbur v. Mount Vernon, 989 F. Supp. 2d 1122 (W.D. Wa. 2013) ......................... 29 Constitutional Provisions United States Constitution Sixth Amendment ..................................................passim Massachusetts Declaration of Rights Art. 11 ........................................................... 30 Massachusetts Declaration of Rights Art. 12 ....................................................passim Massachusetts Declaration of Rights Art. 29 ........................................................... 30 Massachusetts Declaration of Rights Art. 30 ....................................................