East Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court Probation Department's Indigency Determination Process for State-Sponsored Legal Services

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor review of how the East Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court Probation Department decided whether defendants were poor enough to receive state-paid legal services.

“The East Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court (EBMC) was one of the 27 courts selected for our review.”

The auditor was already reviewing the statewide public counsel system and checked selected district courts to see whether probation staff were following the law on indigency decisions.

“The objective of our work at each district court was limited to determining the extent to which probation staff in these courts were complying with their mandated responsibility established by Chapter 211D to ensure that a defendant claiming to be indigent meets the definition of indigence.”

If the court does not verify eligibility, the state cannot be sure that public lawyer services are going only to people who qualify.

“As a result of these conditions, there is inadequate assurance that all of the state-sponsored legal counsel services that the EBMC provided to 1,583 defendants during fiscal year 2010 were appropriate.”

For taxpayers, the issue is whether public money for court-appointed lawyers was spent properly; for defendants, the issue is whether eligibility decisions were handled consistently and according to law.

“As a result of these conditions, there is inadequate assurance that the funding provided to the CPCS to retain public counsel for the 1,583 individuals deemed indigent by the EBMC in fiscal year 2010 was appropriately spent.”

The auditor concluded that the probation department was not doing enough verification and was not keeping required documents, so it could not prove that all state-funded legal services were properly approved.

“Accordingly, there was inadequate assurance that the EBMC Probation Department performed the required verification of the information provided by clients who applied for and received state-sponsored legal services.”

The auditor recommended that the probation department immediately follow the law, create written procedures, and add controls to make sure staff verify eligibility and keep records properly.

“In order to address our concerns relative to this matter, we recommend that the EBMC Probation Department take measures to immediately comply with all the requirements of Chapter 211D of the General Laws.”

The finding was significant because the court handled 1,583 public-counsel cases in fiscal year 2010, but the audit found weak verification and missing records.

“During this same period, the EBMC provided legal counsel services to 1,583 of these individuals determined to be indigent by the EBMC Probation Department.”

“Indigent” means a person who meets court rules showing they cannot afford a lawyer, such as receiving certain public benefits, having very low income, being in certain facilities, or being in custody without available funds.

“Rule 3:10, Section 1, of the Supreme Judicial Court defines an indigent person as an individual who is:”