Massachusetts lawmakers are looking to approve a pay raise for public defenders in hopes of ending a legal crisis

Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday passed a funding bill that includes a pay raise for public defenders as part of an effort to end a legal crisis that led to dozens of cases being dropped and defendants getting out of jail But hours before the vote,

So-called "bar advocates"  — private attorneys who take on the criminal cases of indigent defendants — have stopped accepting new cases for more than two months as they seek higher hourly rates. Lawmakers say they plan to increase wages by $20 per hour — less than the $35 per hour bar advocates are asking for.