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MIDC Meeting – August 20, 2024
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on Tuesday August 20, 2024 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Location:
Michigan Bankers Association Building
507 S Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933
Online Access: For members of the public who wish to join the meeting online, please request a Zoom link by contacting Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or text or call (517) 648-3143 and leave a message with your email address. The link will be provided in the morning before the meeting begins.
Free parking is available in the lot at the southeast corner of Grand and Lenawee. Free, handicap-accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the building is available in the same lot but enter at the southwest corner of Cherry at Lenawee.
For any questions or concerns or to contact the Commission, please email Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or call (517) 648-3143.
Position Available: Regional Manager – Wayne County
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 26, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
Regional Manager: Wayne County, Michigan
This position will cover all funding units in Wayne County.
Summary
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) is seeking a Regional Manager to facilitate the creation of superior systems for representation of indigent clients charged with crimes. Regional Managers provide direction and guidance to indigent defense delivery systems around the state on compliance with MIDC-enacted standards. They serve as the liaisons between local systems and the MIDC.
This challenging and rewarding opportunity will require the skills of a diplomat and knowledge of indigent defense systems and models. Regional Managers must have a thorough working knowledge of the MIDC Act and a wide variety of models of indigent defense delivered locally in Michigan and nationwide. Successful candidates will work with criminal justice stakeholders to design the most appropriate plans for meeting minimum standards for indigent defense in a particular county or system.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Education and Experience
Possession of a Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited school of law; a minimum of five years of progressively more responsible work experience working in court, public, or business administration, or representing indigent clients is desired.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Membership in good standing in the Michigan State Bar.
Due to significant travel within the region, an individual with a valid driver’s license and insured vehicle is also required.
Work Location:
The ideal candidate should be based in a county in the region or have the ability to travel regularly to the locations indicated in the position description.
Periodic travel to the MIDC Office in Lansing, Michigan is expected.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
August 26, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
[link to Michigan NEOGOV website]
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
MIDC Meeting – June 25, 2024
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on Tuesday June 25, 2024 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Location:
Michigan Bankers Association Building
507 S Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933
Online Access: For members of the public who wish to join the meeting online, please request a Zoom link by contacting Jacklyn Downer at DownerJ1@michigan.gov or text or call (517) 582-1741 and leave a message with your email address. The link will be provided in the morning before the meeting begins.
Free parking is available in the lot at the southeast corner of Grand and Lenawee. Free, handicap-accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the building is available in the same lot but enter at the southwest corner of Cherry at Lenawee.
For any questions or concerns or to contact the Commission, please email Jacklyn Downer at DownerJ1@michigan.gov or call (517) 582-1741.
MIDC Receives Grant Funding for Youth Defense Trial Skills Training
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission was awarded a 3 year youth defense trial skills training grant by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Free trial skills training will be available to all qualifying youth defense attorneys in Michigan. Read the full proposal submitted to OJJDP here.
Read about our Project Manager, Susan Prentice-Sao
To learn more about the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention click here.
Both US and Michigan law recognize effective assistance of counsel as a critical part of a youth’s due process rights. As determined by the Supreme Court in In re Gault,
“[t]here is no material difference . . . between adult and juvenile proceedings. The juvenile needs the assistance of counsel to cope with problems of law, to make skilled inquiry into the facts, to insist upon regularity of the proceedings, and to ascertain whether he has a defense and to prepare and submit it. The child ‘requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him.”
In re Gault, 387 U.S. 1, 36 (1967) (citing Powell v. Alabama, 287 U. S. 45, 69 (1932)). See also Mich. Comp. Laws § 712A.2(a)(requiring appointment of an attorney for a juvenile proceeding)
Research Shows Michigan is Failing at its Obligation to Provide Quality Youth Defense, including Lacking Attorney Training and Oversight. Read the full report by the Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform (2022). This outcome confirms a 2020 independent statewide assessment conducted by the Gault Center (formerly the National Juvenile Defender Center) that found Michigan’s young people are facing prosecution without protection of their constitutional rights. Read Overdue for Justice: An Assessment of Access to and Quality of Juvenile Defense Counsel in Michigan (2020).
More information will be available at the end of August 2024.
Susan Prentice-Sao, Program Manager – Youth Defense Training
Our Advisory Board Members:
MIDC Meeting – April 30, 2024
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on Tuesday April 30, 2024 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Location:
Michigan Bankers Association Building
507 S Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933
Online Access: For members of the public who wish to join the meeting online, please request a Zoom link by contacting Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or text or call (517) 648-3143 and leave a message with your email address. The link will be provided in the morning before the meeting begins.
Free parking is available in the lot at the southeast corner of Grand and Lenawee. Free, handicap-accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the building is available in the same lot but enter at the southwest corner of Cherry at Lenawee.
For any questions or concerns or to contact the Commission, please email Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or call (517) 648-3143.
Resources for Calculating Caseloads
Updated November 2024
The MIDC’s Staff has prepared resources to assist funding units in tracking caseloads of attorneys assigned in adult criminal cases. The MIDC Caseload Tracker spreadsheets provide local indigent defense systems with tools to track attorney workloads and calculate attorneys’ proximity to Standard 6 workload maximums. Use of these resources is optional and provided upon request and for the convenience of stakeholders in the criminal legal system.
Note: The Individual Assignment Entry and Quarterly Entry – 4Q Rolling Average sheets were updated in November 2024 to add new features and improve functionality for users with older versions of Excel.
MIDC Meeting: February 20, 2024
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on Tuesday February 24, 2024 beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Location:
Michigan Bankers Association Building
507 S Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933
Online Access: For members of the public who wish to join the meeting online, please request a Zoom link by contacting Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or text or call (517) 648-3143 and leave a message with your email address. The link will be provided in the morning before the meeting begins.
Free parking is available in the lot at the southeast corner of Grand and Lenawee. Free, handicap-accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the building is available in the same lot but enter at the southwest corner of Cherry at Lenawee.
For any questions or concerns or to contact the Commission, please email Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or call (517) 648-3143.
Position Available: MIDC Administrative Assistant
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 29, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
Administrative Assistant
Summary
This position provides secretarial and executive support to assist the Executive Director, Deputy Director and staff of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. This position provides technical assistance and guidance to office staff and to members of the Commission. The position serves as a management assistant and handles sensitive information and must maintain a high degree of confidentiality especially when working with sensitive issues.
Education and Experience
Education
Education typically acquired through completion of high school.
Experience
Six years of administrative support experience where use of a personal computer to prepare correspondence, reports, charts, etc., or to enter/retrieve/update information is an essential part of the work, including three years equivalent to an advanced, 8-level, administrative support worker, Secretary E8, or Legal Secretary E8; two years equivalent to a Secretary 9, Legal Secretary 9, or Senior Executive Management Assistant 9; or, one year equivalent to the Division Head Legal Secretary 10 or Executive Secretary E10.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
February 29, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
[link to Michigan NEOGOV website]
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Position Available: Regional Manager, Lapeer Macomb Oakland and St. Clair Counties
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 20, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
Regional Manager: Lapeer, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair Counties
Summary
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) is seeking a Regional Manager to facilitate the creation of superior systems for representation of indigent clients charged with crimes. Regional Managers provide direction and guidance to indigent defense delivery systems around the state on compliance with MIDC-enacted standards. They serve as the liaisons between local systems and the MIDC.
This challenging and rewarding opportunity will require the skills of a diplomat and knowledge of indigent defense systems and models. Regional Managers must have a thorough working knowledge of the MIDC Act and a wide variety of models of indigent defense delivered locally in Michigan and nationwide. Successful candidates will work with criminal justice stakeholders to design the most appropriate plans for meeting minimum standards for indigent defense in a particular county or system.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Education and Experience
Possession of a Juris Doctorate degree from an accredited school of law; a minimum of five years of progressively more responsible work experience working in court, public, or business administration, or representing indigent clients is desired.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Membership in good standing in the Michigan State Bar.
Due to significant travel within the region, an individual with a valid driver’s license and insured vehicle is also required.
Work Location:
The ideal candidate should be based in a county in the region or have the ability to travel regularly to the locations indicated in the position description.
Periodic travel to the MIDC Office in Lansing, Michigan is expected.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
February 20, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.
Apply online by clicking here.
[link to Michigan NEOGOV website]
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
MIDC Meeting – December 19, 2023
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on Tuesday December 19, 2023 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Location:
Michigan Bankers Association Building
507 S Grand Ave, Lansing, MI 48933
Online Access: For members of the public who wish to join the meeting online, please request a Zoom link by contacting Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or text or call (517) 648-3143 and leave a message with your email address. The link will be provided in the morning before the meeting begins.
Free parking is available in the lot at the southeast corner of Grand and Lenawee. Free, handicap-accessible parking and an accessible entrance to the building is available in the same lot but enter at the southwest corner of Cherry at Lenawee.
For any questions or concerns or to contact the Commission, please email Marcela Westrate at WestrateM1@michigan.gov or call (517) 648-3143.