Tagged: public defense

This week Rina Miller talks with Michigan Radio's political analyst Jack Lessenberry about State Attorney General Bill Schuette stalling a plan to overhaul the state's public defense system, Governor Rick Snyder's comments about the state focusing too much on four-year degrees, and a possible move to

You probably haven’t thought much about this, but in addition to the candidates for President and Congress and everything else this  November, there are dozens who want to be elected judges.

Judicial races are usually more boring than other contests, because judges ethically can’t talk about how they might rule in hypothetical cases, though everyone frequently tries to figure that out. Nor do they normally criticize how past cases were decided.

Snyder promotes vocational training

"Governor Rick Snyder says Michigan and the rest of the country lost sight of the value of vocational training as young people were encouraged to get four-year college degrees. The governor spoke Thursday at a business conference in Grand Rapids.  He says too many students have been pushed toward getting four-year college degrees when vocational education or community college might have made more sense. The governor says the result is thousands of jobs in skilled trades go unfilled while people are looking for work. Snyder says he intends to convene a summit of educators and employers early next year to get a better sense of where the demand for jobs is strongest – and use that information to help re-design Michigan’s education system. The governor has also called for stronger integration of pre-school through post-high school education," Rick Pluta reports.

Report finds 17 percent of Metro Detroit youth are not working or in school

"A new report says Metro Detroit has one of the country’s highest rates of youth who are not working or in school. The group Measure of America looked at 16- to 24-year-olds in the nation’s 25 biggest metro areas. It found Metro Detroit had the third-highest rate of so-called “disconnected” youth, at about 17-percent. Only Phoenix and Miami had higher rates. The report recommends universal preschool education, and re-building vocational education programs, as effective ways to fight the disconnection problem," Sarah Cwiek reports.

Public defense overhaul stalled

"The state Attorney General has stalled a plan to overhaul Michigan’s public defense system. The state is consistently ranked as one of the worst in the country for providing defense attorneys to those who can’t afford one. But Bill Schuette’s legislative relations director Alan Cropsey came to the hearing with a long list of concerns about the bill. He says it would open the state to lawsuits, and doesn’t provide enough oversight. Supporters of the bill hope to have another hearing this month," Jake Neher reports.

The state Attorney General has stalled a plan to overhaul Michigan’s public defense system.

Almost everyone agrees Michigan needs to improve its system for providing defense attorneys to those who can’t afford one.

The state is consistently ranked as one of the worst in the country.

But Bill Schuette’s legislative relations director Alan Cropsey came to the hearing with a long list of concerns about the bill.

He said it would open the state to lawsuits, and doesn’t provide enough oversight.

Cropsey’s testimony ate up a big chunk of the hearing, which was forced to adjourn without a vote.

Republican Representative John Walsh chairs the House Judiciary Committee. He scolded Cropsey and the Attorney General for not bringing their criticisms forward sooner.

“Your card indicates neutrality. There was nothing in your presentation that would indicate neutrality," said Walsh.

Supporters of the bill hope to have another hearing this month.

Sikkema says renewable energy mandate would drive up energy costs

"The campaigns for and against Proposal 3 on the November ballot are debating the cost of renewable fuels versus coal and gas. Proposal 3 would require 25 percent of the state’s electricity be generated using wind, the sun, or bio-fuels by 2025. Ken Sikkema compared the costs of renewable generation to the costs of using coal or natural gas. He found renewable energy will be more expensive. The campaign FOR Proposal 3 says the ballot question would help stabilize energy costs, because the cost of wind and solar energy is not as volatile as fossil fuels," Rick Pluta reports.

Lawmakers to look at legal aid for poor defendants

A hearing will take place this week to set standards for public defenders in Michigan who work with low-income people. "Michigan's public defender system is consistently rated one of the worst in the country. Michigan has no statewide training requirements for public defenders, and many public defenders say they have to take on too many cases to make a living. But they could be created soon. Lawmakers will take the first step this week. They'll hold a hearing Thursday on a bill that would create a new commission to set those standards," Sarah Hulett reports.

Enbridge has paid a $3.7 million fine

"Federal regulators say the Canadian owner of a pipeline that ruptured in 2010 and dumped more than 800,000 gallons of oil into a southwestern Michigan river has paid a $3.7 million fine. Enbridge Inc. owns a pipeline running from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario. The pipeline burst near Marshall, Mich., spewing oil into the Kalamazoo River system. The federal agency says the penalty against Enbridge is the largest it has imposed. It cited Enbridge for 24 violations of hazardous liquid pipeline regulations, including failure to fix corrosion discovered as far back as 2004. It also says Enbridge failed to detect the rupture for 17 hours," the AP reports

A state commission adopted recommendations this morning to help ensure fair trials for people who can't afford to pay for an attorney.

Michigan's county-by-county indigent defense system is considered one of the worst in the country. The report calls for an independent agency to be a watchdog on counties' public defender systems -- and to step in when they fall short. It also calls for more training for public defenders, limiting caseloads and better compensation.
    
Judge James Fisher chaired the Michigan Indigent Defense Advisory Commission. He says the agency would set standards for every county to follow, “so that we can ensure that people have attorneys representing them who are capable, and adequately compensated, qualified, experienced, so forth.”

And the state should step in, he says, when counties don’t live up to the rules.

Republican state Representative Tom McMillin served on the commission. He says the Legislature will begin hearings on the recommendations this summer.

“When we’re looking at taking away somebody’s liberty and putting them in jail, I think that that’s an extremely, extremely high priority to ensure that we have as much equal justice as possible," he said.

He says it’s also critical to ensure that attorneys are independent from the judges hearing their cases.  

“When an attorney is counting on satisfying judges for their next appointment," he said, "there’s a question on whether that attorney is serving the best interests of the client who may end up in jail, or is some of that interest in satisfying the judge?"

McMillin and Democratic state Representative Ellen Cogan-Lipton say they’re already drafting legislation to create a commission and an agency to oversee indigent defense. 
       
Now, it’s up to the Legislature and Governor Snyder to enact the recommendations. Hearings could begin this summer. Fixing public defense in Michigan could cost taxpayers $50 million dollars.
   

Michigan's system for providing legal defense for poor people may be revamped in 2012. 

Michigan’s public defense system is one of the worst-ranked in the country. In many counties, public defenders are poorly trained and overburdened.

“[A] patchwork of 83 systems and systems inside of those systems just is an embarrassment," said Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills). "We need to really get a better handle to try to ensure justice.”

McMillin says he’d like to introduce legislation in the first half of the year that would dramatically change how public defenders are trained and paid in Michigan.

A state commission has begun work to ensure that everyone who is accused of a crime in Michigan gets an adequate legal defense.

Michigan allows every county to handle its own public defender system.

The system is frequently cited as one of the worst in the country.

That’s because some counties do a good job of ensuring that even people who cannot pay get a good lawyer. Other counties are more haphazard.

There are also no training standards for public defenders.

Retired Judge James Fischer chairs the commission.

“I think you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would argue that there are no problems with the system, that it’s working perfectly fine for everyone. I’m pretty certain that’s not going to be anyone’s position," said Fischer.

The commission’s first step was to approve a set of questions for every county to answer on how it assigns and pays public defenders.

One of the common complaints is that public defenders must take on too many cases to earn a living.

Peter Cunningham is with the Michigan Campaign for Justice.

“We need to come up with an improved system for public defense in Michigan. There needs to be more accountability – a statewide structure for holding counties accountable for how public defense is delivered, if not a statewide system,” said Cunningham.

Governor Rick Snyder gave the commission until July of next year to come up with a set of recommendations – including a way to pay for a better public defender system.