Boston shooting suspect didn’t get a court-appointed attorney — and you might not either

Anyone charged with a crime has a constitutional right to a lawyer, even if they cannot afford one.

But as the arraignment of a 46-year-old Boston man on Wednesday shows, in Massachusetts, that guarantee may not be so certain for the time being, due to attorneys’ fight for higher pay.

Elvis Haughton appeared in Boston Municipal Court’s Central branch Wednesday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges that he took a Boston Police officer’s gun and fired it during a scuffle, injuring himself. The incident on Tuesday morning near Massachusetts General Hospital led to an extensive police investigation and road closures on Cambridge Street and surrounding side roads.

Also, on Tuesday morning, bar advocates, or private lawyers who contract with the state to represent defendants without the funds to hire an attorney themselves, began refusing new cases, saying they are not paid enough to sustain their practices.

Bar advocates are paid $65 per hour in district court, but according to the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), after accounting for expenses such as office and out-of-pocket health and malpractice insurance, they effectively earn around $20 per hour — a rate they say makes it impossible to continue providing quality legal defense.

They are paid $85 per hour for Superior Court cases and $120 per hour when the defendant is charged with murder.

In comparison, bar advocates make $125 an hour in New Hampshire, $112 per hour in Rhode Island and $150 per hour in Maine.

CPCS, the state’s public defender agency, retains full-time staff attorneys and handles about 20% of cases where criminal defendants are provided with a court-appointed lawyer. Bar advocates handle the remaining 80%.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Haughton was arraigned without an attorney to represent him “due to the work stoppage.” He was charged with assault and battery on a police officer, illegal possession of a firearm, possession of a class C substance and resisting arrest.

A judge ordered Haughton to undergo a mental health evaluation. He was ordered held without bail until his dangerousness hearing on June 2.