Michigan Supreme Court Conditionally Approves Indigent Defense Standards

LANSING, MI –The Michigan Supreme Court conditionally approved the first set of standards proposed by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) in an Administrative Order issued June 1, 2016.

The initial standards address some of the major problems Michigan faces in the delivery of adequate indigent defense systems:  training and education of counsel, the initial client interview, use of investigation and experts, and counsel at first appearance and other critical stages.

Each local indigent criminal defense delivery system working with the State Court Administrative Office will now submit its compliance plan to the MIDC and the agency will work with the legislature to secure funding for those plans.

In April, the MIDC approved the subjects of the next set of standards: independence from the judiciary, caseloads, attorney qualifications and review, and reasonable fees.

Read the Michigan Supreme Court’s press release here.