The Massachusetts Bar Association supports the call for higher
salaries for assistant district attorneys and public defenders as
detailed in a recently released report by the Commission to Study
Compensation of Assistant District Attorneys and Staff Attorneys
for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which was created by
former Gov. Deval L. Patrick. In its report, the commission
recommends a minimum salary for both ADAs and CPCS Staff Counsel of
$55,360, and that implementation occur within three years.
"My colleagues and I on the commission believe there is no
question that significant and immediate salary increases are
necessary to remedy the woeful compensation paid to our assistant
district attorneys, who are paid less than courtroom custodians,
and to our public defenders, who are the lowest paid in the
country," said MBA President Marsha V. Kazarosian, who served as a
member of the commission. "While I wholly support the report's
recommendations for higher salaries for both ADAs and CPCS staff
attorneys, I do not support the inclusion of Exhibit C, which does
not reflect the commission's vote for parity in the salary
structure."
Kazarosian added: "We at the MBA believe even more funding is
needed -- including for private bar advocates, whose work, though
not under the commission's purview, is nonetheless vitally
important to our criminal justice system. We will continue to
advocate for the proper salaries deserved by all attorneys serving
our criminal justice system."
The commission's findings
incorporated by reference and affirmed the conclusion of the MBA's
May 2014 report, "Doing Right by Those Who Labor for Justice: Fair
and Equitable Compensation for Attorneys Serving the Commonwealth
in its Criminal Courts," which analyzed the "declining economic
status" of prosecutors, public defenders and bar advocates due to
low salaries. (The full MBA report from May 2014 can be accessed
online at: Blue Ribbon Commission Report: Doing Right by Those Who Labor for Justice 2014.)