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Three men locked up for serious gun and drug charges yesterday became the first defendants freed because the courts have been unable to appoint lawyers for them. "This is a sad day for the commonwealth,'' said Hampden County District Attorney James Orenstein. "We're very concerned about public safety in the days coming up.'' Citing constitutional rights violations, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled on July 28 that defendants must be released if they are held seven or more days without a lawyer. Their cases must be dismissed if they still don't have a lawyer 45 days after their initial arraignment. The crisis arises out of the refusal of bar advocates - private lawyers who previously took court-appointed clients - to accept new cases in protest of state-set pay rates. Lawyers say the rates are the third lowest in the nation. The lack of willing defense lawyers has been accute in Hampden County, but also is being felt in Boston and across the state, especially after the legislature approved a $7.50-an-hour raise that many attorneys felt was insulting. The lawyers say the current rates - $30-an-hour for District Court work, $39-an-hour for Superior Court work and $54-an-hour for murder cases - do not cover their costs of maintaining solvent law practices. [more]