Lawsuit Says State Doesn't Spend Enough on Public Defenders

    Feb. 22, 2007
    The Associated Press
    By David Eggert


    LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Advocates for poor criminal defendants sued the state Thursday, accusing it of failing to spend enough money on public defenders in violation of the U.S. and Michigan constitutions.

    The suit was filed on behalf of defendants who can't afford private lawyers and rely on public defenders in three counties, but it seeks class-action status and aims to improve the indigent defense system statewide.

    "The state has turned its back on this crisis," said Michael Steinberg, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. "We can no longer ignore Michigan's broken justice system. It must be fixed."

    In announcing the case, the ACLU and other members of the newly formed Michigan Coalition for Justice said the state has abandoned its duty to ensure people accused of crimes get fair, timely, qualified and effective legal assistance. They said Michigan is one of just eight states that give no money to counties for trial-level public defenders, resulting in spending disparities for court-appointed attorneys among the state's 83 counties.

    Eight defendants in Berrien, Genesee and Muskegon counties filed the suit in Ingham County Circuit Court, though the group behind the suit said problems aren't limited to those three counties.

    "Without any oversight from (the state), most county indigent defense services are seriously underfunded, poorly administered and do not ensure that indigent defense providers have the tools necessary to do their jobs," the suit alleges.

    It says public defenders are burdened by overwhelming caseloads and don't meet with clients or have enough time to prepare for important proceedings.

    The suit names the state and Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the governor hadn't seen the suit but added that she's "committed to protecting the constitutional rights of all Michigan citizens."

    F. Martin Tieber, former deputy director of the State Appellate Defender Office, said some public defenders, often fresh out of law school, don't have offices and work out of cars and from restaurant tables.

    He argued that improving indigent defense could save money in Michigan's justice system, because offenders sentenced to prison might not serve as long if their lawyers have more time to ensure they get the proper sentence.

    The Michigan Coalition for Justice said state government should help pay for trial-level defense, but it couldn't estimate how much extra that could cost. The state is facing a $900 million deficit in the current budget year.

    Michigan also has no standards to ensure public defenders get training and supervision, according to the advocates. In Berrien County in southwest Michigan, the ACLU said, the prosecution gets nearly four times as much funding as the public defense system.

    Steinberg said the suit was driven partly by a visit by ACLU lawyers to Benton Harbor in Berrien County, which exploded into two nights of rioting in 2003 sparked by the death of a black motorcyclist during a high-speed police chase.

    "Many people came to us and said, `You've got to do something to ensure that individuals in our community charged with crimes are getting equal justice,'" Steinberg said. "That spurred us to launch into a statewide investigation."



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