More than 50 people across Boston and neighboring Middlesex County are being held without a lawyer assigned to their case as bar advocates across Massachusetts continue to refuse to take on new cases, according to the Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
In a statement Monday evening, the association said the growing number of unrepresented people in Massachusetts, which it says has grown to exceed 240 in just Boston and Middlesex County, represents a crisis.
As of last week, roughly 40 people in Boston were being held in custody without a lawyer, and more than 150 were unrepresented, the association said. In Middlesex County, which includes Cambridge, 16 people are being held without lawyers and 90 people accused of crimes are awaiting a court-appointed attorney, according to the statement.
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It was not immediately clear what the statewide totals were, but the association indicated there are “many others who remain locked in custody with no one as their voice.”…