MIDC Scholarships for Training

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to attend the Gideon’s Promise Trainer Development Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  The conference is designed to teach participants the Gideon’s Promise philosophy, model, and curriculum as well as skills and strategies for effectively teaching and mentoring public defenders working in under resourced systems.  In sending future trainers to this conference, the MIDC intends to implement the Gideon’s Promise model as a skills training program for new assigned counsel as one potential model for compliance with the proposed standard for the training and education of attorneys accepting appointments statewide.  Upon return, the scholarship recipients will be expected to serve as trainers in this skills training program.

The MIDC scholarship will cover the registration for this program as well as travel-related expenses to Atlanta for the conference.

If interested, please send a short paragraph addressing:

  • Name;
  • Geographical area covered and type of practice;
  • Years of experience in criminal defense and % of practice devoted to criminal defense (appointed or retained cases);
  • Ability to travel to Atlanta, Georgia and fully participate in the conference being held June 9-12, 2016; and
  • Specific interest in serving as a trainer for new attorneys representing people who are poor and charged with crimes in Michigan.

The requested information should be sent to opportunities@michiganidc.gov no later than Friday April 29, 2016 at 5:00 p.m.

For more information about the Gideon’s Promise Trainer Development Conference, click here.

Read the MIDC’s first proposed standard on the education and training of assigned counsel here.

 

Governor Makes Re-Appointments to Commission

On April 13, 2016, Governor Snyder announced in a press release that Frank Eaman, Brandy Robinson, William Swor and John Shea have been re-appointed to serve on the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission:

“A key principle of the judicial system is that every citizen has a right to competent legal counsel,” Snyder said. “I am confident these members will continue to serve our state well on this commission.”

Read the entire press release here and find out more about all of the Commissioners on the MIDC’s website.

 

MIDC Meeting April 19, 2016

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will meet on April 19, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. in the Commission Offices located at:

200 N. Washington Square, 3rd Floor, Lansing, Michigan 48913

For information about the meeting please contact Marcela Westrate at 517-657-3066.

Additional meeting information and minutes from previous meetings can be found here.

Comment Period for Standards Ends May 1st

On January 11, 2016 the Michigan Supreme Court issued a news release about the proposed minimum standards being published for public comment, together with Administrative Order 2016-xx:

On order of the Court, this is to advise that the Court is considering adoption of an administrative order that would establish minimum standards for appointed counsel as proposed by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. Before determining whether the proposal should be adopted, changed before adoption, or rejected, this notice is given to afford interested persons the opportunity to comment on the form or the merits of the proposal or to suggest alternatives.  The Court welcomes the views of all. This matter also will be considered at a public hearing.

View the entire Administrative Order on the Michigan Supreme Court’s website.  The Court will post the notice and agenda for the public hearing on the Administrative Matters & Court Rules Page.

The comment period expires on May 1, 2016.  Comments will be posted on the Michigan Supreme Court’s website.

Commission Seeks Standards for Court Appointed Defense Lawyers in Michigan

In an interview with Michigan Radio, 55th District Court Judge Tomas Boyd of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission discussed the first set of proposed minimum standards for indigent defense delivery systems that are currently pending in the Michigan Supreme Court as well as findings from a court system survey conducted by the Commission that was released in February:

“There are 111 district courts within those 83 counties, 58 circuit courts, each of them has a different way to do this,” said Boyd. “There is no consistency across the system. So what the legislature intends to do, and what Gov. Rick Snyder intends to do, is to establish a layer of minimum standards that every system needs to rise up to.”

The entire interview is online and available for listening on Michigan Radio’s website.

 

 

Survey: Poor Don’t Get Adequate Defense in Michigan Courts

The Detroit Free Press is reporting on the findings of a recent Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Survey:

The report by the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is the first comprehensive statewide survey on the defense of poor people, said the commission. It found wide variations in how indigent people are represented across the state, with only 6%  of district courts requiring an attorney at both the bail hearing and at arraignment. And only 15% have guidelines for continuing legal education standards for attorneys appointed to represent the needy.

The Detroit Free Press article quotes from Commissioners Frank Eaman, Brandy Robinson and William Swor about the work of the MIDC.

Read the entire article on the Detroit Free Press website.

MIDC Executive Director Delivers Progress Report

Jonathan Sacks, the Executive Director of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, was part of a recent breakout session at a symposium at the University of Michigan Law School on February 19-20 titled, “Innocent Until Proven Poor, Fighting the Criminalization of Poverty,” sponsored by the Michigan Journal of Race and Law.

Frank Weir of the Legal News reported on the session.  Sacks gave an overview of the recent history of indigent defense in Michigan and the work of the Commission:

“Our permanent commission seeks to have the state meet its Sixth Amendment obligations,” Sacks said.  He noted that the commission has begun to address the three concerns by conducting research to see how big the problem is; develop minimum standards so all counties have the same understanding of what is required for adequate indigent defense; and “the state then needs to step in and start funding county compliance plans with the minimum standards.”

Read the entire article at the Legal News.

 

Research Director Describes Survey Results

In a recent post for the National Association for Public Defense, MIDC Research Director Dr. Jonah Siegel discusses the work of the Commission in collecting data, our first survey of court systems, and how the results will be used to improve indigent defense statewide.

[T]he MIDC’s first research task was to survey all circuit and district courts in the state to gather basic information on the representation of indigent adult criminal defendants in their systems. Survey questions addressed the extent to which local public defense systems currently engage in evidence-based practices that have been identified nationally as characterizing representation that is high-quality and effective. The survey also intended to shed light on process. Since data on indigent defense representation have never been comprehensively and consistently collected in Michigan, data collection provided critical insight to the MIDC into how to most effectively connect with stakeholders to gather accurate information. The results will be used by the MIDC to inform the development of statewide minimum standards and to guide the implementation of standards in each local jurisdiction.

To read the full post, please see the NAPD’s website.

To read the entire survey report, click here.

Recommendations Proposed to Help Indigent Defendants

In a recent interview with WLNS, MIDC member Judge Thomas Boyd discussed the first set of proposed minimum standards for indigent defense delivery systems currently pending before the Michigan Supreme Court.  The first standards involve training for public defenders, more confidential spaces for attorney-client meetings, more effective use of investigators, and, faster assignments to counsel.

“Not only does the Michigan constitution, the United States constitution say you have the right to effective assistance to counsel, but it just makes sense in terms of making sure that a just result comes from each case,” Boyd said.

See the interview at the WLNS website.

Report: Many Courts Fall Short in Ensuring Proper Defense for Poor

MIDC Executive Director Jonathan Sacks was recently interviewed by Rick Pluta of Michigan Radio about the survey report that the MIDC released recently.  The report found “big differences in how public defenders are retained, paid, and trained. Some courts don’t have private spaces for attorneys to meet with defendants.”

“Different counties and courts are all over the place in every single area,” said Jonathan Sacks with the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission.

Sacks says the shortcomings put a lot of indigent defendants at risk of unnecessary incarceration.

Read the summary of the interview on Michigan Radio’s website.