Michigan Indigent Defense Commission
End of Summer Update
August 2015

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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

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:

The commission will vote in October to recommend these standards to the Michigan Supreme Court, which is expected to give final approval in May or June. The commission would then work with counties to develop plans to comply.

Read the full article in the Lansing State Journal here.

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Just a few weeks ago, the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) released the first set of proposed minimum standards for the local delivery of indigent criminal defense services. These standards involve education and training, the initial client interview, experts and investigators, and counsel at first appearance in front of a judge or magistrate. We selected these initial standards because they are either required by the statute or supported by United States Supreme Court precedent. MCL 780.989(1). We also wanted to start with a set of standards that would be amenable to the creation of lasting and measurable improvements in the criminal defense of people who cannot afford counsel. Among other topics, future standards will tackle caseloads, qualifications, compensation, and independence of the indigent defense function from the judiciary.

These standards were distributed widely for comment to multiple criminal defense attorneys and associations, as well as to judges, prosecutors, legislators and other system stakeholders. MIDC staff has spoken with many groups about the first set of proposed standards either as part of our work, in connection with a training event, or in a meeting designed specifically to answer questions about the future of indigent defense in counties across Michigan. All comments about the standards that have been formally submitted will be posted to the MIDC’s website, and any comments received prior to the public hearing will be considered by the Commission.

We encourage everyone who is interested to e-mail comments on the standards to info@michiganidc.gov or mail them to 200 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933 no later than August 7, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. to ensure distribution to the full Commission.

The MIDC will hold a public hearing on these standards on August 18th at 1:00 PM at the Lansing campus of Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. Video conference equipment will also allow participation from the Cooley Auburn Hills and Grand Rapids locations. If you would like the MIDC staff to speak to your group prior to the public hearing, please contact us to schedule a discussion.

Following the public hearing, the MIDC will submit standards to the Michigan Supreme Court, who will conduct their own review and comment process. When the Court approves standards, the MIDC will work with courts and government units to select compliance plans for these standards. We expect the compliance plans to be due in late 2016 based on deadlines set in the MIDC Act. The State of Michigan is then required to fund the plans. We look forward to watching this important process succeed.

This past week the MIDC also started its statutorily-mandated data collection efforts with the distribution of the first-ever comprehensive survey to measure the delivery of criminal justice for indigent defendants in Michigan. This initial survey seeks to gather details on current practices in the state’s court systems to help MIDC better understand and map the legal landscape for indigent defendants in Michigan. More specifically, the survey gives courts the opportunity to provide information about types of indigent defense systems, eligibility for counsel, process for appointment of counsel, and public defense expenditures. The questions only involve trial level indigent criminal defense for adults. The information that we gather in this first survey will inform the development of statewide standards for public defense.

The survey itself will be completed online by a court administrator, but could also be submitted by a judge, chief public defender or the person charged with maintaining the data related to the assignment of counsel in their court. To see the complete survey, please go to the MIDC’s website where a .pdf copy is available, along with a message from MIDC Chair, Hon. James Fisher.

In addition to traveling around the state to talk about the MIDC, Executive Director Jonathan Sacks received scholarship funding to attend the National Association for Public Defense’s Executive Leadership Institute at Valparaiso at the end of June, and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association’s conference of Chief Defenders in Washington D.C. in July. Jonathan was also invited to be the introductory speaker at the summer conference for the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan. The CDAM conference focused on search and seizure topics but was a terrific venue to start a discussion about best practices for criminal defense as well as an opportunity to hear from attorneys around the state with questions and suggestions for the MIDC’s work. Jonathan also spoke in Berrien and Macomb about possibilities for compliance plans and models for providing indigent defense services in those counties. MIDC staff also attended Macomb County’s criminal justice reform committee meeting where several members of the criminal justice community were present and discussed real plans for improvement.

In June, Governor Snyder signed an omnibus budget bill that included funding for the 2015-2016 fiscal year that begins October 1, 2015. The MIDC was appropriated $996,700. After working with legislators in the House and Senate, MIDC was able to have language added to the budget that will allow the agency to receive federal grant funding and funding through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. MIDC continuously evaluates grant opportunities and plans to apply for funding in the future.

The MIDC is very pleased to be making real progress in terms of proposing standards, beginning data collection, and working with groups around the state who are serious about making critical changes to indigent defense. Please contact us to request a meeting or visit – we will continue to travel and talk with interested groups as our work progresses.