Public Defense System in Michigan
What’s the Issue?
The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), affirms that those accused of a crime are entitled to effective assistance of competent counsel, even if they cannot afford it. Yet Gideon’s promise remains unfulfilled in Michigan.
Michigan’s public defense system is plagued by inadequate funding, high caseloads and lack of organization and oversight. These failures have led to multiple wrongful convictions – in which an innocent person was incarcerated and the true perpetrator remained free – and an inability to uphold the constitutional rights of all Michigan citizens.
Criticisms of the Current system
Michigan’s county-driven public defense system has been plagued by high case loads, a lack of oversight, and inadequate funding and training for defense attorneys. Some of the well-documented criticisms over the years include:
- Fragmentation – In Michigan, individual counties are principally involved with the selection and payment of public defense counsel. This fragmentation of services creates disparate resources and practices across the state.
- No meaningful oversight on a state level – Michigan has no state training of trial-level counsel, statewide performance records, or performance review process.
- Serious under-funding, low pay for assigned counsel, and limited resources – According to a report by National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA), Michigan ranked 44th in the nation for public defense spending.
Michigan Public Defense Task Force
Since June 2001, MCCD convened the Michigan Public Defense Task Force, a 50-member group dedicated to assuring fair and effective justice and the recognition that Michigan’s public defense system must be strengthened.
In 2002, the Task Force published Eleven Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System patterned on the American Bar Association’s Ten Principles of Indigent Defense. The Eleven Principles were subsequently adopted by the State Bar of Michigan’s Representative Assembly in 2002 and its Board of Commissioners in 2005.
Michigan Forms Indigent Defense Committee
On July 1, 2013 Gov. Snyder signed into law legislation (HB 4529 and SB 300) creating an independent and permanent Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. The commission is the first step towards fixing Michigan’s broken defense system.
The new commission is charged with establishing, enforcing, and overseeing statewide public defense standards to ensure effective assistance of counsel for individuals tried or sentenced in adult courts. Specifically, the 16-person commission will develop a set of standard procedures that each local jurisdiction must follow, including training for defense counsel, case load limits, and requirements for indigence.
Learn More
State of Michigan: Michigan Indigent Defense Committee
The Michigan Campaign for Justice
Resources and Reports by the State Appellate Defender Office and Criminal Defense Resource Center
July 2013 – The National Juvenile Justice Network Published Michigan Member Organization Helps Pass Indigent Defense Reform Bill, Calls for Further Reform for Youth by Kristen Staley
August 2012 – Indigent Defense in Michigan: After Decades of Struggle, Meaningful Reform May Be in Reach by the Michigan Bar Journal
December 2011 – Written Testimony of Michelle Weemhoff – Submitted to the Michigan Indigent Defense Advisory Commission
July 2011 – Justice Policy Institute published “System Overload: The Costs of Underresourcing Public Defense.”
March 2009 – Dawn Van Hoek of the State Appellate Defender Office published “Penny-Wise and Pound Foolish,” discussing the cost savings of an effective public defense system.
June 2008 – The National Legal Aid and Defender Association released an evaluation of trial-level indigent defense services in Michigan entitled “A Race to the Bottom; Speed & Savings Over Due Process: A Constitutional Crisis” in June 2008.
July 2008 – The Ten Core Principles: For Providing Quality Delinquency Representation Through Public Defense Delivery Systems were adopted by the National Juvenile Defender Center and the National Legal Aid & Defender Association in partnership with the American Council of Chief Defenders in December 2004 and revised and reissued in July 2008.
October 2002 – Model Plan for Public Defense Services in Michigan Developed by: The Task Force on Improving Public Defense Services in Michigan. A project of the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency.
April 2002 – The Eleven Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System were adopted by the Public Defense Task Force and the State Bar of Michigan Advisory Council.
Posted by MCCD on Tuesday, November 5th, 2013 @ 12:52PM
Categories: Public Defense Reform