The Boston Bar Journal recently published an article about the need for diversity in the Criminal Justice system; in addition, the article touches on the issue of attorney salaries for prosecutors and public defenders.

An excerpt of the article can be read below; to read the entire article, please click here.

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Promoting Diversity in the Criminal Justice System
by Professor R. Michael Cassidy

The decisions of grand juries in Missouri and New York not to indict police officers responsible for shooting unarmed black men has sparked intense debate in this country about racial disparities in our criminal justice system.  Turning this public outcry into meaningful reform will not be easy.  But if public confidence in law enforcement is going to be strengthened, one important step is to make sure that the most powerful actors in our criminal justice system mirror the racial composition of the communities they represent.

We need more people of color serving as police officers, judges, jurors, public defenders, and perhaps most importantly prosecutors. Their talent, background, and perspective are essential to balanced and informed decision-making. Just as importantly, their presence in the courthouse will be critical to restoring a perception that our criminal laws will be fairly applied to all.  Until our prosecutors are as diverse as the public that they purport to protect, citizens will naturally question the fairness of charging and plea bargaining decisions that occur behind closed doors.

African Americans make up almost 13% of the population in this country, but only about 4.8 % of licensed attorneys. The National Black Prosecutor’s Association, a membership organization that bills itself as the premier professional network for black prosecutors across the country, counts only 800 members in their entire organization, even though there are over 25,000 lawyers working as state prosecutors in the United States.  Here in Massachusetts, my colleagues among the district attorneys estimate that in some counties as little as 2% of the courtroom legal staff identify as African American.

One factor contributing to this underrepresentation is salary.  Massachusetts prosecutors are among the lowest paid in the country—even below those in Arkansas and Mississippi, states with dramatically lower costs of living.  Entry level prosecutors in Massachusetts earn $37,500 per year.  The national median starting salary for prosecutors among the 50 states and the District of Columbia is $51,000.  In most courthouses across this Commonwealth, the prosecutor is the lowest paid state employee in the building—behind the custodians, the secretaries, and the assistant clerks. And the public defender does not fare much better.

For more, please visit the Boston Bar Journal located here.