Man charged with murder had previous weapons case dismissed due to public defender shortage

A man charged with murder in Boston had a separate case against him dismissed a little more than three weeks ago because of the shortage of public defenders in Massachusetts.

Javon Robinson, 29, was arrested and charged after police say he stabbed and killed a person in Mattapan over the weekend. He was arraigned Monday in Boston Municipal Court, where a judge ordered he be held without bail.

Robinson last appeared in court in October to face weapons and drug charges. Boston Municipal Court Chief Justice Tracy Lee Lyons dismissed those charges because the court could not find an attorney to represent him.

The dismissal fell under what's called the Lavallee protocol, procedures the state Supreme Judicial Court outlined this summer, where charges should be dropped after 45 days if there isn't an attorney available to represent a defendant who can't afford legal representation. For those in custody, charges are dropped after seven days if they do not have a lawyer.

Cases can be dismissed "without prejudice," meaning prosecutors can later re-file the charges. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said it requested that the Robinson case be re-filed.

Hundreds of cases have been dismissed this year, since some public defenders stopped taking new cases while fighting for higher pay from the state. The loosely organized work stoppage began in May, as lawyers have sought to increase the typical $65-an-hour wage for public defenders.

State lawmakers have approved a $20 per hour increase over two years, but many attorneys said that is still not enough and they are not taking on public representation cases.

The Committee for Public Counsel Services, which oversees public defenders in Massachusetts, referred all questions to an attorney representing Robinson in the murder case. The attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.