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

This is a 2011 state audit of how the South Boston Division of the Boston Municipal Court Probation Department decided whether defendants qualified as indigent for state-paid legal services.

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

The State Auditor was reviewing public counsel services and checked whether probation departments were doing their legal duty to confirm that defendants who asked for free counsel met the indigency rules.

“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.”

The issue matters because public money pays for lawyers for people who qualify, and the court needs a reliable process to make sure the help goes only to eligible defendants.

“Chapter 211D charges the CPCS with the responsibility of providing legal counsel services to indigent persons entitled to representation by law.”

For an ordinary taxpayer, the concern is whether public funds were spent properly and whether the court had enough proof that the people receiving state-paid lawyers qualified for them.

“As a result of these conditions, there is inadequate assurance that the funding provided to the CPCS to retain public counsel for the 1,451 individuals deemed indigent by the SBMC in fiscal year 2010 was appropriately spent.”

The court probation department lacked written procedures, did not routinely verify defendants' financial information, and did not keep required reassessment records.

“We also found that the Probation Department was not in compliance with Chapter 211D of the General Laws in terms of ensuring that a defendant claiming to be indigent meets the definition of indigence as defined by Rule 3:10, Section 1, of the Supreme Judicial Court.”

The Auditor recommended that the department immediately follow state law, create written procedures, strengthen internal controls, and fix record retention practices.

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

The finding is significant because it affected a court that provided state-sponsored counsel to 1,451 defendants in fiscal year 2010, without adequate assurance that all services were appropriate.

“During this same period, the SBMC provided legal counsel services to 1,451 of these individuals determined to be indigent by the SBMC Probation Department.”

"Indigency determination" means deciding whether someone is poor enough under court rules to qualify for a state-paid lawyer; the audit says that decision must be checked and documented.

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