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More than 100 criminal cases at Boston Municipal Court have been dismissed as Massachusetts defendants go without lawyers in the wake of an attorney work stoppage.Virtually all bar advocates — private lawyers hired by the state to represent people who can't afford an attorney — are no longer accepting district court cases due to a pay dispute with the state.The Lavallee Protocol mandates that defendants who do not have attorneys within 45 days are to have the cases against them dismissed without prejudice."The case dismissals today, with many more expected in coming days and weeks, present a clear and continuing threat to public safety ... We remain hopeful that a structural solution will be found," a Suffolk County District Attorney's office spokesperson said in a statement.Boston Municipal Court heard criminal cases from South Boston, West Roxbury, Charlestown, East Boston, Brighton, Roxbury, Dorchester and BMC Central. Some cases involve assault and battery charges, domestic violence or larceny.Attorney Marc Tohme, from the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, explained what prosecutors are doing so that some cases can proceed."We have grave concerns for public safety, given some of the cases being dismissed, some of the individuals being released with the charges attached to them, and we are securing counsel now, and it is certainly not our job under the protocol to do so, but we are doing so out of a concern for public safety," Tohme said.A bar advocate was found to take a handful of cases, but the rest are being dismissed. "I know the parties are talking. They've got to find a way to work this out. We need lawyers in court. We need people back at work and certainly they need to be paid fairly. This is a matter of public safety," Gov. Maura Healey said. The cases are being dismissed without prejudice, meaning the charges can be refiled.Another 225 cases are expected to be heard in Boston Municipal Court on Aug. 5. Other district courts, including in Middlesex County, estimate there are 447 defendants who will need hearings soon so a judge can decide whether to dismiss their charges.A raise for bar advocates was not included in the state budget recently passed by lawmakers. According to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, what the lawyers are asking for amounts to a nearly 54% increase. Leaders on Beacon Hill said threats to federal funding have already required cuts in spending.Late Tuesday, more than 100 retired Massachusetts judges called for an end to the work stoppage. In an open letter, the judges, who served on the Supreme Judicial Court, Appeals Court, federal, district and superior courts across the state, demanded "fair pay" for bar advocates. The state budget passed by the legislature did not include a pay raise for those private attorneys.