Number 18 October 8, 1970

Number 18 October 8, 1970 Honorable John J. Droney District Attorney for Middlesex County Court House Cambridge, Massachusetts Dear Mr. District Attorney: You have requested my opinion whether, in the light of the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 12, section 20, the amount of compensation which is to be paid to legal assistants appointed or to be appointed by you is restricted in amount when the compensation is to be paid through a Federal grant. More specifically, you inform me that enactment of the Federal Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-351, 82 Stat. 197) has resulted in the availability of Federal funds to implement a District Court Prosecutor's Program, administered by the Governor's Committee on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice. This program will evaluate the utility of an alternative to police prosecution in the district courts. You further inform me that you have hired a legal assistant to operate the demonstration project and that assistants hired with Federal funds will have all the powers and duties of an assistant district attorney. It is my opinion that the provisions of G. L. c. 12, § 20 do not limit the compensation to be paid legal assistants connected with the District Court Prosecutor's Program, when their compensation is paid through a Federal grant. General Laws c. 12, § 20 provides: "Section 20. The district attorney for the Suffolk district, the district attorney for the northern district and the district attorney for the Norfolk district may each employ additional legal assistants, with the approval of the chief justice of the superior court. The length of time of such employment, which shall in no instance exceed three months, and the amount of compensation, which shall in no instance exceed two thousand dollars, shall be determined by the district at- torney, with the approval of said chief justice. Such compen- sation shall be paid by the treasurer of Suffolk county, Middlesex county or Norfolk county, as the case may be, upon presentation of bills approved by the district attorney, and by said chief justice and in Suffolk county by the auditor thereof. In matters connected with the work for which he is so employed, an attorney shall have all the powers and au- thority of an assistant district attorney." On July 28, 1969. in opinion to the District Attorney of the Norfolk District, I reviewed the history of G. L. c. 12, § 20, which originated as St. 1906, c. 460 (1969-1970 Op. Atty. Gen., No. 2). With respect to the question you pose, I think it clear that the restriction on compensation found in that section applies only when the compensation is to be paid with county funds. The maximum of two thousand dollars is designed to P.D. 12 63 protect the county treasury, and the need for that protection vanishes when Federal funds are involved. In the latter instance, if the Federal government deems fiscal controls necessary, it is free to enact them. Cf. 1946-1947 Op. Atty. Gen. 66-67. In conclusion, then, it is my opinion that G. L. c. 12. § 20 does not restrict the compensation to be paid legal assistants when the compensa- tion is to be paid with Federal funds. Very truly yours, ROBERT H. QUINN Attorney General