Supreme Judicial Court justices balked at arguments Wednesday that they should take the extraordinary step of hiking the pay of court-appointed attorneys for the poor to help end a work stoppage, though they underscored the severity of the crisis the courts still face as hundreds of criminal defendants continue to go without legal representation .

At issue is whether judges have the authority to order pay increases for private attorneys who represent the poor, known as bar advocates, when that power has historically been preserved for the state Legislature. In August, legislators gave the bar advocates a modest pay raise, far less than what they were seeking, and it has not been enough to coax lawyers back to work and end the work stoppage.

The Committee for Public Counsel Services

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