Beacon Hill's Baffling Priorities

Beacon Hill has kept the Bottle Bill bottled up in committee because of vested interests even though 77% of Massachusetts residents favor it.

An Updated Bottle Bill would expand our container deposit system to include “new age” drinks such as non-carbonated beverages, water, iced tea, juice, and sports drinks. It would decrease litter and increase recycling.

An estimated 3.3 billion beverages are consumed annually in Massachusetts, of which 1.3 billion are “new-age” (e.g. water, sports drinks, flavored teas), and this number is only expected to increase. As consumers purchase more of these beverages, an increasing number of containers are finding their way to landfills and by the sides of our roads.


Yet they can cram through hastily considered legislation such as this to deny justice:

State lawmakers consider bill limiting court-appointed attorneys
Only those facing jail time would be given lawyers
Published : Thursday, 15 Mar 2012
Laura Hutchinson

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - State lawmakers are considering a bill that could result in fewer people getting court-appointed attorneys. It's a controversial measure that's designed to save the state money.

No threat of jail time, no lawyer. The state of Massachusetts spends millions of dollars each year on court-appointed attorneys. But, that could change if lawmakers approve a bill filed Wednesday that proposes court-appointed attorneys only be assigned to defendants facing the possibility of jail time. "I don't think everyone needs to have a lawyer I mean if it's minor, come on now, give it to someone who really needs it," said Deborah Williams of Springfield.

Right now even minor offenders can be assigned an attorney. But, some lawmakers say it's gotten too expensive.

Just to put this into perspective, last fiscal year there were nearly 45,000 cases of someone being arraigned on a single misdemeanor charge who qualified for a court-appointed attorney and it cost the state more than $17 million dollars.

The bill would mean minor offenders hire their own lawyers, or represent themselves.

Ludlow's Herminia Arnold represented herself once and says it's not something she'd recommend. "I think I did a pretty good job but I could have done better with a lawyer. I just saw a case in there that this person didn't have a lawyer the first time so they threw everything out and now they've got to start all over again so you should always have someone, it's not where cuts should be made."

Authors of the bill say it could save the state $10 million dollars. [There is not even a 'report' referenced in this article indicating that this issue has been studied or carefully considered. It would seem that they are simply plucking figures out of the air.]

Attorney Justin Lavelle, Law Offices of Richard Ravosa, says he's not against the measure, but he doesn't think someone should be ruled out for a free attorney without some consideration.

"There are a lot of misdemeanors where the client could face some very adverse consequences that may not necessarily involve incarceration but could definitely have some adverse effects down the line."

Under the proposal if during trial evidence surfaced warranting a recommendation for jail time, the judge can intervene and appoint council.