HOLYOKE — A criminal defendant’s right to a lawyer is enshrined in the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, which is meant to guarantee that someone facing criminal charges has “the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
But often, public defenders and private attorneys who take on cases for those unable to afford an attorney are stretched thin by the number of cases they need to handle. That can impact the quality of defense somebody receives. And for defense attorneys in Hampden County, the problem is particularly stark.
“There have not been enough attorneys to handle cases in Hampden County generally for a whole host of reasons,” said Anthony Benedetti, the chief counsel of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS, the agency responsible for providing legal services to those who are unable to afford them in Massachusetts.
To address the need for more public defenders, this week CPCS opened a new office in Holyoke, adding 10 new lawyers dedicated to defending clients in Hampden County. The new CPCS office at 100 Front St. will also have an investigator, a social worker, administrative staff, and two lawyers with supervisory roles, a lawyer in charge and a supervising attorney.
Benedetti said the presence in Holyoke represents the first opening of a new CPCS office in years. Defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a zealous defense, he said, but when lawyers are in short supply it can hurt the cases of those facing charges.
“Work is not being done yet on their case, and the more you delay work on preparing your defense the more at risk you are of not being able to collect certain evidence, find witnesses, do the things that are critical,” Benedetti said. “Any delay can be extremely harmful.”
CPCS is hoping that the the office will improve the situation for criminal defendants who can’t afford their own lawyers — particularly in Holyoke.
“We’re trying to focus on making sure that the courts have attorneys, that we’re able to be in the Holyoke District Court as regularly as we can,” said Kate Murdock, the attorney in charge of the Holyoke office. “That’s really where the need is.”
Murdock said the number of lawyers in western Massachusetts who take court-appointed criminal cases in Hampden County has “decreased dramatically” in recent years. She said part of the reason is the so-called “Great Resignation” trend of workers quitting their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. An aging cohort of attorneys and fairly low law-school graduation rates are also to blame, she said.
“And part of it is their rate — the amount of money people get paid to do this kind of work,” Murdock said.
CPCS arranges for private attorneys to get paid to take on court-appointed cases as well as staffing their own public defenders. Murdock said that the Springfield CPCS office had grown to be the biggest in the state, adding staff as the attorney shortage grew. The opening of the new Holyoke office will mean some attorneys from the Springfield office will move to the Holyoke office and their positions will be replaced in Springfield. The agency is still hiring new attorneys for the Holyoke office, too.
“Between the two it does represent an additional 10 attorneys dedicated to Hampden County,” Murdock said.
Being located so close to Holyoke District Court will mean that attorneys can hurry over to help a client.
“That’s just the kind of representation everyone should have, but is difficult to do if you’re not in walking range,” she said.
Murdock said the agency is thrilled to have expanded its footprint in Holyoke, and that she is looking forward to connecting with community organizations and partnering on initiatives in Holyoke.
“We really want to be community players,” Murdock said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.