Governor Deval Patrick, in his recently submitted budget, proposes to save some $40 million dollars by overhauling the way the Commonwealth provides lawyers for indigent defendants. Currently the Commonwealth utilizes the services of about three thousand private contract lawyers to provide legal counsel to those who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers. This bill has been about $160 million annually, and has also been a real sore point with the District Attorneys, who have maintained that the defense bar is seeing budget increases at a time when their own budgets are being cut. The Governor proposes to hire one thousand lawyers and support staff to bring this function back “in house”. His estimate is that the savings will be over $40 million, and that number is reflected in his proposed budget. It is fair to say that the defense bar, seeing that $160 million dollars disappear, will put up a strenuous fight against the Governor in the Legislature. It appears to me that the Governor suspects that the private lawyers are doing some “bill padding”. This is his way of getting his arm around those costs while addressing the concerns of the state’s District Attorneys. The Globe seems to think it is a good idea. Read their support editorial here.