A man charged with murder in a fatal stabbing in Mattapan last weekend is one of more than 200 defendants who saw their criminal cases dismissed in October due to a lack of legal representation.
Javonte Robinson, 29, of Mattapan, was arrested by the Boston Police Fugitive Unit near Neponset Valley Parkway in Hyde Park on Sunday on a warrant for murder issued out of the Dorchester division of Boston Municipal Court. Police say he is believed to have stabbed a man near 30 Fremont St. around 7:20 p.m. last Saturday (Nov. 15) before fleeing the scene.
Officers found the adult male suffering from the wound when they arrived. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. His identity has not yet been released by authorities.
Robinson, who was ordered without bail after his arraignment in Dorchester court on Monday, last appeared before the court in October when the charges he faced for carrying a knife and drug offenses were dismissed over the objections of Suffolk County prosecutors.
The dismissal, one of scores issued over a two-day period in October in what is known as a Lavallee Protocol hearing, a legal process in Massachusetts that mandates the release or dismissal of criminal cases for defendants who have not had legal representation for a certain period of time, was ordered because Robinson lack of representation was, in part due to a work stoppage by bar advocates that has disproportionately impacted Dorchester court proceedings.
Robinson’s attorney on the murder charge, Michael Tumposky, did not return an email from The Reporter in time for this story. In comments to the Boston Globe, he said that his client denies committing the murder as he insisted that dismissing the earlier charges against Robinson was the appropriate ruling under the Lavallee Protocol.
A spokesperson for District Attorney Kevin Hayden said this week: “We’ve been consistent in voicing our concerns about the public danger represented by charges dismissed because of the Lavallee Protocol. This incident reinforces our concerns that additional dismissals or releases will cause additional harm to the public.”
The attorney shortage has persisted since last May, when bar advocates— private attorneys who agree to defend people for below-market-rate fees— began a work stoppage aimed at increasing their wages.
In August, the Legislature passed and Gov. Healey signed a bill that included a modest pay hike for the lawyers and added funding to the state budget for hiring full-time public defenders. However, the compromise bill wasn’t popular, and many lawyers have continued to avoid taking on public defense cases.
One result was that more than 200 cases in Dorchester Court were heard on those two days in October (21-22) by Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons, with most, including Robinson case, dismissed due to lack of representation.
In the initial hearing on weapon and drug charges against Robinson in August, Hayden’s office asked that he be held on $500 bail, but he was released on personal recognizance. However, as there were outstanding warrants out for him, including a parole violation at Attleboro District Court, he was transported there to face those charges on that day.
The DA’s Office said it has re-filed the original weapon and drug charges against Robinson but no action has yet been taken. The spokesman said they have started re-filing several other of the Lavallee dismissals to reopen those cases against the defendants, but no action has been taken on those, either.
Lavallee Protocol hearings continue to take place weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays as needed via Zoom at Boston Municipal Court’s Central Division.
