Mass. High Court Rules That Defendants Must Prove They Can’t Afford a Lawyer
In a decision that stands to save taxpayers money, the state’s highest court ruled Friday that people facing criminal charges carry the burden of proving they cannot afford to pay for their own lawyer before a judge appoints a taxpayer-funded lawyer for them.
The court also said the range of people who may be required to contribute to a person’s legal defense — before taxpayers start paying the bill — can include defendants’ spouses, parents, and even girlfriends and boyfriends.
In three companion rulings, the Supreme Judicial Court said defendants are in better position to detail their financial condition than a judge or the state Probation Department, which now handles the task. And, for the first time, the SJC said the burden of proof is on them.
“A criminal defendant is the party in possession of all material facts regarding her own wealth,” Justice Francis X. Spina wrote in the ruling involving Diane Porter, the owner of a home care company accused of failing to pay workers. “As such, she should be required to bear the risk of failure of proof.”
In all three rulings, the court said requiring defendants to prove they have limited financial means does not violate their constitutional right, guaranteed by the state and federal constitutions, to a court-appointed lawyer if they can’t afford to hire one.