Bill > H1630

This bill aims to amend the law regarding the appointment of indigent defense counsel in Massachusetts. The key provisions are: 1. It removes the requirement for the court to review a defendant's indigency status every 6 months. Instead, the court will determine indigency at the initial arraignment. 2. It establishes that defendants charged with certain misdemeanors or municipal bylaw violations will not automatically be appointed counsel if the judge informs them at arraignment that their sentence will not include incarceration. However, the judge can later revoke this decision and appoint counsel if necessary. 3. It creates a committee to establish a new definition of "indigency" for the purposes of verifying asset information of individuals who are appointed counsel by the court. 4. It creates another committee to study which state agency would be best equipped to perform the indigency verification functions mandated by the law. The bill aims to streamline the process of appointing indigent defense counsel and ensure that resources are directed towards cases where incarceration is a potential outcome.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H1630