Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
End of Summer Update
August 2015
View this Message on Adobe Slate
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission held a business meeting and first ever public hearing on the initial set of proposed minimum standards for indigent defense delivery systems on August 18, 2015 at the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. On that date, attendees at the Lansing, Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills Campuses were able to provide the Commissioners with feedback about the proposed standards, offer support, and suggest modifications for change. This public hearing was a critical step prior to the standards being submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court as set forth in the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act. The MIDC is extremely grateful for the generosity of the WMU Cooley Law School in donating space to the Commission to conduct this meeting which allowed for remote participation in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills by interested parties. Full coverage of the public hearing can be found on our website via the Lansing State Journal.
Since that public hearing, the subcommittees of Commissioners and MIDC staff have returned to work on the language of the proposed standards, which will again be made available to the public prior to the next business meeting of the Commission in October. All comments submitted continue to be considered by the Commission. Anyone wishing to provide additional commentary on the standards may do so by electronic mail to info@michiganidc.gov or U.S. Mail to 200 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933. Comments will continue to be posted to our website as they are received for review by the public.
MIDC staff visited bar associations and other stakeholders around the state prior to the public hearing, with presentations to groups and attorneys from the Michigan District Judges Association, Wayne, Berrien, Kent, Muskegon, Saginaw, Roscommon, Oscoda, Crawford, Isabella, Chippewa and Marquette and Antrim Counties, and since the hearing in Ottawa. Jonathan Sacks will present at the upcoming Criminal Advocacy Program in Wayne County on September 11, 2015, serve on a panel at the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting on October 9, 2015, and will provide an update on the activities of the MIDC at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan conference in Traverse City on November 13, 2015. If you would like a staff member to speak to your local bar association or group of attorneys, or if you would like to come to our office and speak to the MIDC staff about any questions or concerns, please contact Marla McCowan, Director of Training, Outreach and Support, at the address or telephone number below.
The MIDC staff will be moving into permanent space in early September. We will be on the third floor of the Capitol National Bank Building in downtown Lansing. Our new space will have offices for the MIDC staff members, and will have a conference room to accommodate our bi-monthly Commission meetings and educational events hosted by the Commission and staff. The core group of staff has been in temporary space on the fourth floor of the Capitol National Bank Building since we started our work late last winter; we are looking forward to settling in to our permanent space and moving ahead with the work on the standards and data collection to improve indigent defense statewide. To assist with this work, the MIDC will be using carry over funding from prior fiscal years for contracts with regional managers to help implement our first set of standards.
The first comprehensive survey of indigent defense in Michigan has already received over 120 responses from Michigan Circuit and District Court administrators. The MIDC intends to publish a report reporting the results this fall.
In our efforts to accomplish our mission through collaboration, transparency and accessibility to all partners in the criminal justice community, the MIDC’s new Freedom of Information Act policy has been placed on our website. Pursuant to the MIDC Act, both the Freedom of Information Act and the open meetings act apply to our agency. The MIDC’s FOIA policy details how to submit a request and the process for how a request will be responded to, along with other relevant information. Please see the MIDC website for the complete policy, and contact the FOIA coordinator at foia@michiganidc.gov with any related questions or concerns.
The MIDC was pleased to be invited by Gideon’s Promise to the Indigent Defense Leadership Summit at the University of Mississippi School of Law, an annual seminar that brings public defender leaders together for community resource sharing, training on the Gideon’s Promise model of client centered representation, and strategies to improve the defense of poor people accused of crimes. Marcela Westrate, the MIDC Legislative and Policy Director, spent a long weekend in Oxford, Mississippi at the end of July with public defender leaders from around the country, and acquired invaluable insight into best practices for indigent defense to be implemented in Michigan. Previously, the MIDC Executive Director Jonathan Sacks, and Marla McCowan, the MIDC Director of Training, Outreach and Support, have attended programs through Gideon’s Promise including the Trainer Development program. The Leadership Summit is the precursor to the two week long Summer Institute for new public defenders. If any experienced attorneys are interested in attending the Trainer Development program in Atlanta in the summer of 2016, or any new attorneys taking assignments are interested in attending the Summer Institute in 2016 (location to be determined), please contact Marla McCowan at the address or phone number below to discuss this program further.
Contact:
Marla McCowan
Director of Training, Outreach and Support
mmccowan@michiganidc.gov
(517) 388-6702
Notice of Upcoming Commission Meeting and Agenda
Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Meeting
Location: Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Offices
Capitol National Bank Business and Trade Center
200 N. Washington Sq, 3rd Floor Conference Room, Lansing
(on the corner of N. Washington Sq. and E. Ottawa St.)
Date: Tuesday October 20, 2015
Time: 1:00 PM
Contact: Marcela Westrate, mwestrate@michiganidc.gov, 517-648-3143
Please click here for the Commission Meeting agenda.
Exploring Indigent Defense Reform
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is pleased to be participating in the State Bar of Michigan’s Annual Meeting in Novi on Friday October 9, 2015 from 10 a.m. – noon at the Suburban Collection Showplace Diamond Center in the Onyx Ballroom. Executive Director Jonathan Sacks and Commissioner Nancy J. Diehl are among the panel members discussing Indigent Defense Reform during the Criminal Law Section’s Program immediately after the business meeting. See the full schedule here.
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission has been tasked with proposing minimum standards for indigent defense and working with Michigan’s 83 counties to implement plans that comply with the standards. Join us for an interactive discussion of the new standards from the perspective of all stakeholders: defense, prosecution, judges, and administration. How do the new standards affect you?
Speakers: Jonathan Sacks, Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, Lansing
Hon. Sarah J. Smolenski, 63rd District Court, Grand Rapids
Frederick D. Johnson Jr., Director Muskegon Public Defenders, County of Muskegon, Muskegon
Nancy J. Diehl, Former Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor & SBM Past President, Detroit
CDAM Fall Conference Schedule
Twice each year, the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan offer an extensive three day training event covering the latest topics in criminal law, legal updates, and critical information to use in every day practice. Registration is open for the Fall 2015 conference in Traverse City, Michigan. MIDC Executive Director Jonathan Sacks will provide an update on the work of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission on Friday November 13, 2015. The complete list of speakers and topics is available on the registration form.
You can register online at www.cdamonline.org or use this registration form.
MIDC Presentation in Wayne County
On September 11, 2015, Executive Director Jonathan Sacks presented at the Wayne County Criminal Advocacy Program and discussed the latest developments at the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission. The materials from the session are available online, and the video from the session is available to view from the CAP website.
Review the Materials and watch the video.
CAP Presentation Materials
On September 11, 2015, MIDC Executive Director Jonathan Sacks will present the latest updates from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission at the CAP Session at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit. The CAP Session is part of a 12 week series of training supported through generous funding of the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards through a grant managed by the State Appellate Defender Office. The session is free of charge and open to the public. See our calendar of events for location information, and review or print the materials for the session here or on the CAP website.
August Outreach Message
Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
End of Summer Update
August 2015
View this Message on Adobe Slate
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission held a business meeting and first ever public hearing on the initial set of proposed minimum standards for indigent defense delivery systems on August 18, 2015 at the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley School of Law. On that date, attendees at the Lansing, Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills Campuses were able to provide the Commissioners with feedback about the proposed standards, offer support, and suggest modifications for change. This public hearing was a critical step prior to the standards being submitted to the Michigan Supreme Court as set forth in the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act. The MIDC is extremely grateful for the generosity of the WMU Cooley Law School in donating space to the Commission to conduct this meeting which allowed for remote participation in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills by interested parties. Full coverage of the public hearing can be found on our website via the Lansing State Journal.
Since that public hearing, the subcommittees of Commissioners and MIDC staff have returned to work on the language of the proposed standards, which will again be made available to the public prior to the next business meeting of the Commission in October. All comments submitted continue to be considered by the Commission. Anyone wishing to provide additional commentary on the standards may do so by electronic mail to info@michiganidc.gov or U.S. Mail to 200 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933. Comments will continue to be posted to our website as they are received for review by the public.
MIDC staff visited bar associations and other stakeholders around the state prior to the public hearing, with presentations to groups and attorneys from the Michigan District Judges Association, Wayne, Berrien, Kent, Muskegon, Saginaw, Roscommon, Oscoda, Crawford, Isabella, Chippewa and Marquette and Antrim Counties, and since the hearing in Ottawa. Jonathan Sacks will present at the upcoming Criminal Advocacy Program in Wayne County on September 11, 2015, serve on a panel at the State Bar of Michigan Annual Meeting on October 9, 2015, and will provide an update on the activities of the MIDC at the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan conference in Traverse City on November 13, 2015. If you would like a staff member to speak to your local bar association or group of attorneys, or if you would like to come to our office and speak to the MIDC staff about any questions or concerns, please contact Marla McCowan, Director of Training, Outreach and Support, at the address or telephone number below.
The MIDC staff will be moving into permanent space in early September. We will be on the third floor of the Capitol National Bank Building in downtown Lansing. Our new space will have offices for the MIDC staff members, and will have a conference room to accommodate our bi-monthly Commission meetings and educational events hosted by the Commission and staff. The core group of staff has been in temporary space on the fourth floor of the Capitol National Bank Building since we started our work late last winter; we are looking forward to settling in to our permanent space and moving ahead with the work on the standards and data collection to improve indigent defense statewide. To assist with this work, the MIDC will be using carry over funding from prior fiscal years for contracts with regional managers to help implement our first set of standards.
The first comprehensive survey of indigent defense in Michigan has already received over 120 responses from Michigan Circuit and District Court administrators. The MIDC intends to publish a report reporting the results this fall.
In our efforts to accomplish our mission through collaboration, transparency and accessibility to all partners in the criminal justice community, the MIDC’s new Freedom of Information Act policy has been placed on our website. Pursuant to the MIDC Act, both the Freedom of Information Act and the open meetings act apply to our agency. The MIDC’s FOIA policy details how to submit a request and the process for how a request will be responded to, along with other relevant information. Please see the MIDC website for the complete policy, and contact the FOIA coordinator at foia@michiganidc.gov with any related questions or concerns.
The MIDC was pleased to be invited by Gideon’s Promise to the Indigent Defense Leadership Summit at the University of Mississippi School of Law, an annual seminar that brings public defender leaders together for community resource sharing, training on the Gideon’s Promise model of client centered representation, and strategies to improve the defense of poor people accused of crimes. Marcela Westrate, the MIDC Legislative and Policy Director, spent a long weekend in Oxford, Mississippi at the end of July with public defender leaders from around the country, and acquired invaluable insight into best practices for indigent defense to be implemented in Michigan. Previously, the MIDC Executive Director Jonathan Sacks, and Marla McCowan, the MIDC Director of Training, Outreach and Support, have attended programs through Gideon’s Promise including the Trainer Development program. The Leadership Summit is the precursor to the two week long Summer Institute for new public defenders. If any experienced attorneys are interested in attending the Trainer Development program in Atlanta in the summer of 2016, or any new attorneys taking assignments are interested in attending the Summer Institute in 2016 (location to be determined), please contact Marla McCowan at the address or phone number below to discuss this program further.
Contact:
Marla McCowan
Director of Training, Outreach and Support
mmccowan@michiganidc.gov
(517) 388-6702
Draft Minutes – August 18, 2015 Meeting and Public Hearing
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission met on Tuesday August 18, 2015 in Lansing, with videoconferencing available to participants in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills through the generosity of the Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The attached minutes linked below are a draft and are not official. They are subject to approval at the next Commission meeting, to be held on October 20, 2015 in Lansing.
MIDC Draft Minutes 8-2015
“Indigent Defense Must Change”
On Tuesday August 18, the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission held a public hearing on the first set of proposed minimum standards for indigent defense delivery systems at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in Lansing. The hearing allowed for participation at the campuses in Grand Rapids and Auburn Hills. Speakers at all locations shared support and concerns for the standards, which will be considered and incorporated into revisions before the standards are finalized. The Lansing State Journal reported on the hearing, and included information about the timeline for implementation:
Read the full article in the Lansing State Journal here.
Talk Legal Defense For Poor August 18th
The Lansing State Journal has information for our upcoming public hearing:
Read the full article here.
For those interested in speaking during the public hearing on August 18th, we ask that you RSVP online using these links to attend in Lansing, Grand Rapids or Auburn Hills.
UPDATED Notice of Meeting and Public Hearing – August 18, 2015
The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission will hold its next meeting on August 18, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Western Michigan University – Cooley Law School, live in Lansing and simulcast in Auburn Hills and Grand Rapids at the following addresses:
A printable flyer is available here.
In addition to normal business, this meeting will also serve as a public hearing on the first set of standards for the local delivery of indigent defense services that have been proposed and posted for comment by the MIDC. These standards involve education and training, the initial client interview, experts and investigators, and counsel at first appearance in front of a judge.
For complete details on the proposed standards, please see the MIDC’s website. Comments on these proposed standards can be submitted to info@michiganidc.gov or mailed to 200 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933. MIDC staff will post the comments on their website and all comments received prior to Friday August 7, 2015 by 5 p.m. will be submitted for consideration by the Commission.
Please note: All are welcome and encouraged to attend the public hearing, but seating is limited and available only on a first-come-first-served basis.
If you intend to speak at the public hearing about the proposed minimum standards please RSVP to be guaranteed speaking time at the hearing. You can RSVP to speak at either the Lansing, Auburn Hills or Grand Rapids locations (click on location link to reserve your spot).
Please contact (517) 648-3143 for additional information or inquiries.