LOWELL — The woman stood, handcuffed, before Judge John Coffey, accused of assaulting her longtime boyfriend. She couldn’t afford a lawyer. And, as of Tuesday, the court couldn’t assign her one.

The lawyers who often take such cases have stopped doing so.

The judge released the woman and set a day for her to return next month. He told her: “Hopefully, on that date, I‘ll have an attorney I can appoint you.”

It was a scene that played out repeatedly in various forms across the state on Tuesday, the first day of a work stoppage for many court-appointed attorneys amid an escalating pay fight .

The private attorneys, called bar advocates , are independent and represent indigent clients on a case-by-case basis, and they are paid hourly. But they say they will not take new cases until the

See Full Page