CPCS
Chief
Criticizes
Underfunding
and
Unworkable
Restructuring
in
Governor’s
Budget
Recommendation,
and
Rallies
Support
for
Adoption
of
CPCS
Budget
Proposal
Statement
of
William
J.
Leahy,
Chief
Counsel,
Committee
for
Public
Counsel
Services
The
Governor’s
fiscal
year
2011
budget
proposal
which
was
released
late
this
morning
recommends
an
appropriation
of
$167,964,898
for
CPCS
in
FY11.
This
is
very
close
to
the
$168.2
million
appropriation
under
which
we
are
operating
in
the
current
fiscal
year.
The
budget
detail
may
be
seen
by
following
the
links
at
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=mg2homepage&L=1&L0=Home&sid=massgov2
There
are
two
significant
flaws
in
the
Governor’s
proposal.
First,
the
proposal
falls
dramatically
short
of
the
$210.2
million
which
we
requested
as
the
amount
needed
to
fulfill
the
right
to
counsel
in
FY11,
and
which
we
expect
to
expend.
The
recommendation
repeats
the
grave
underfunding
of
the
right
to
counsel
which
marred
this
year’s
appropriation,
and
which
has
left
an
unusually
large
$34.5
million
deficiency
in
our
FY10
private
counsel
compensation
line
item
(0321-1510).
Second,
the
Governor’s
proposal
recommends
the
transfer
of
almost
$35
million
from
that
same
underfunded
private
counsel
compensation
line
item,
to
the
main
CPCS
staff,
operations,
support
and
oversight
line
item
(0321-1500).
We
understand
and
we
appreciate
that
the
Governor’s
budget
proposal
has,
for
the
second
consecutive
year,
been
crafted
in
a
fiscal
environment
defined
by
inadequate
state
revenues
which
are
insufficient
to
support
the
full
provision
of
many
state
services.
Thus,
we
appreciate
that
the
Governor
did
not
recommend
reducing
our
overall
FY11
appropriation
significantly
from
its
FY10
total.
Nevertheless,
we
must
state
that
this
proposal
is
not
responsive
to
the
CPCS
budget
request
of
$210.2
million
which
we
submitted
in
November,
2009.
First,
contrary
to
our
explicit
request
that
the
right
to
counsel
be
fully
funded
in
the
main
appropriation,
this
proposal
underfunds
this
bedrock
Constitutional
right
to
a
degree
which
threatens
our
ability
to
provide
the
representation
which
the
laws
of
the
Commonwealth
and
the
Constitutions
of
both
the
commonwealth
and
the
nation
require.
As
we
warned
in
our
budget
submission
in
November:
To
leave
any
significant
portion
of
CPCS
funding
to
the
uncertain
prospect
of
a
supplemental
appropriation…is
to
threaten
the
interruption
of
our
services
and
a
return
to
the
indigent
counsel
crisis
which
required
the
intervention
of
the
Supreme
Judicial
Court
in
Lavallee
v.
Justices
in
the
Hampden
Superior
Court,
442
Mass.
228
(2004)
in
order
to
remedy
“an
unconstitutional
state
of
affairs
[which]
cannot
be
tolerated.”
The
second
major
flaw,
the
proposal
to
shift
almost
thirty-five
million
dollars
from
assigned
private
counsel
representation
to
public
counsel
staff
representation,
threatens
the
ability
of
CPCS
to
deliver
high-quality
legal
services
under
its
mixed
public-private
partnership
which
has
served
both
indigent
parties
facing
state
intervention,
and
the
Commonwealth
itself,
very
well
for
over
twenty-five
years.
CPCS
has
always
advocated
the
advantages
of
a
counsel
assignment
system
which
is
comprised
of
both
a
full-time
public
defender
component
and
“the
active
and
substantial
participation
of
the
private
bar.”
American
Bar
Association
Standards,
Providing
Defense
Services,
Standard
5-1.2,
Systems
for
Legal
Representation.
In
geographical
or
practice
areas
where
there
is
no
such
mix,
as
currently
exists
in
many
areas
of
Massachusetts
for
juvenile
delinquency
and
youthful
offender
representation,
CPCS
advocates
as
it
has
in
this
year’s
budget
request
for
modest
and
targeted
increases
in
staffing.
But
this
proposal
is
neither
modest
not
targeted
to
a
specific
area
of
need.
It
is
simply
not
a
workable
proposal,
and
therefore
we
will
resist
it
in
the
legislative
budget
process.
People
can
fairly
argue
what
the
ratio
of
public
and
private
counsel
ought
to
be,
and
it
is
true
as
the
Rogers
Commission
noted
in
its
2005
report
that
Let
me
be
clear:
we
do
not
support
the
Governor’s
budget
proposal.
What
we
will
do,
and
what
we
urge
everyone
who
cares
deeply
about
the
right
to
counsel
to
do,
is
to
argue
vigorously
and
effectively
in
the
Legislature
for
approval
of
the
CPCS
budget
request
for
FY11.
That
budget
request
calls
for
total
funding
in
the
amount
of
$210,175,586.
It
includes
1)
full
funding
of
the
private
counsel
compensation
line
item,
in
the
amount
of
$166,078,893;
2)
modest
expansion
of
public
counsel
staffing
to
open
three
juvenile
delinquency
staff
offices
and
the
addition
of
one
audit
position
to
monitor
the
new
vendor
payment
system
(VBill),
as
recommended
by
the
State
Auditor,
for
a
total
staff
and
operations
budget
(including
bar
advocate
programs,
private
counsel
training,
support
and
payments)
of
$30,258,218;
and
3)
full
funding
of
the
indigent
court
cost
account
in
the
amount
of
$13,838,475.
This
is
the
proposal
which
the
Legislature
should
approve.
This
is
the
proposal
for
which
we
will
work
every
day.
We
hope
that
every
attorney,
every
bar
association
and
every
citizen
who
values
the
right
to
counsel
will
join
us
in
this
effort.
Working together, we will continue our notably successful record of fulfilling the promise made by the court in Gideon, and doing so in a cost-effective and responsible manner.
For
further
information,
please
contact:
Anthony
J.
Benedetti,
CPCS
General
Counsel
(617)
988-8305
Suffolk Lawyers for Justice 101 Tremont Street, Suite 600, Boston, MA 02108 Tel: (617) 348-0088 Fax: (617) 348-0099