June 14, 2011, Introduced by Reps. Constan, Slavens, Cavanagh and Darany and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to provide for a public defense commission; to provide
for development, implementation, and administration of a public
defense system; to provide for attorney representation of indigent
criminal and juvenile defendants; to provide standards for the
appointment of legal counsel; and to prescribe powers and duties.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"Michigan public defense act".
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Plan" means the commission's plan for providing public
defense services throughout this state.
(b) "Public defense commission" or "commission" means the
public defense commission created under section 3.
(c) "Public defense services" means legal representation and
other services provided to eligible individuals.
(d) "Region" means a judicial circuit or group of judicial
circuits designated by the commission as an administrative unit to
oversee the provision of public defense services.
(e) "State public defense system", "state system", or "system"
means the state public defense system developed and implemented by
the commission under section 4.
Sec. 3. (1) The public defense commission is created to
implement and administer a state public defense system.
(2) The commission shall consist of 9 members who shall be
appointed by the governor for terms of 3 years. Of the 9 members, 2
members shall be recommended by the supreme court, 1 member shall
be recommended by the Michigan judges' association, 1 member shall
be recommended by the Michigan district judges' association, 2
members shall be recommended by the state bar of Michigan, 2
members shall be recommended by the criminal defense attorneys
association of this state, and 1 member, who is not an attorney,
shall be selected from members of the general public by the
governor. Appointments to the commission shall reasonably reflect
the population, geographic, and rural and urban diversity of this
state.
(3) Not fewer than 1 individual appointed to the commission
shall have significant experience in the representation of
juveniles in delinquency proceedings or a demonstrated commitment
to quality representation of juveniles in those proceedings. Not
fewer than 1 individual appointed to the commission shall have
significant experience in criminal appeals.
(4) At the time of appointment or while serving on the
commission, a member of the commission shall not be a sitting judge
or prosecuting attorney, or an individual employed by a prosecuting
attorney, a law enforcement agency, a probation department, or the
Michigan department of corrections, and shall not be a criminal
defense attorney employed by, or under contract with, the office.
(5) All commission members shall be appointed for terms of 3
years and shall hold office until their successors are appointed.
The terms of the members shall be staggered. Initially, 3 members
shall be appointed for a term of 3 years each, 3 members shall be
appointed for a term of 2 years, and 3 members shall be appointed
for a term of 1 year.
(6) The governor shall fill a vacancy occurring in the
membership of the commission, for the unexpired term only, in the
same manner as the original appointment and in a timely manner.
(7) Members of the commission shall not receive a salary in
that capacity but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable, actual,
and necessary expenses by the state treasurer.
Sec. 4. (1) The commission has the following duties:
(a) To establish procedures for the conduct of its affairs and
elect a presiding officer from among its members.
(b) To promulgate policies necessary to carry out its powers
and duties under this act.
(c) To convene a public hearing before a proposed policy
becomes effective.
(d) To place commission policies in an appropriate manual
publicly available on an internet website to all attorneys and
professionals providing public defense services, the supreme court,
the senate and house appropriations committees, and the senate and
house fiscal agencies.
Sec. 5. (1) In addition to the duties listed under section 4,
the commission shall develop a plan for providing public defense
services that divides the state into defense regions sufficient to
provide efficient provision of public defense services throughout
this state while addressing local needs.
(2) The commission shall hold not less than 3 public hearings
on the proposed plan in separate geographical regions of this state
before adopting the plan.
(3) The commission shall periodically review any proposed
revisions to the plan and take such action it considers
appropriate.
(4) The commission shall ensure that client-related data
remain secure and that policies regarding access to that data and
procedures are established by the office to ensure confidentiality.
(5) The commission shall assist in the implementation of
programs that improve the criminal justice system and reduce
recidivism.
Sec. 6. (1) All attorneys providing public defense services
under this act shall be licensed to practice law in this state and
be members in good standing of the state bar of Michigan.
(2) The commission shall establish state standards for public
defense services to ensure services are provided by competent
counsel and in a manner that is fair and consistent throughout the
state. The standards shall address all of the following:
(a) The level of education and experience required to provide
effective representation, based on case complexity and severity of
the charges and potential punishments.
(b) Acceptable workloads that take into account case
complexity, the severity of charges, client factors such as mental
illness, and potential punishments in a case.
(c) The availability of, access to, and use of professional
services that may be required for a case, including, but not
limited to, paralegals, investigators, and expert witnesses.
(d) The availability of, access to, and use of technology and
legal resources.
(e) The availability of, access to, and completion of training
and continuing education requirements.
(f) Practice standards.
(g) Performance criteria.
(h) Performance evaluation procedures.
(3) The commission shall establish policies to ensure that all
of the following criteria are met:
(a) Attorneys are appointed to represent clients in a timely
and equitable manner.
(b) Cases are assigned to attorneys with the skills, training,
and experience to handle them and whose workloads are within the
limits established by commission policies.
(c) Conflicts of interest are identified and those cases
involving a conflict of interest are handled according to
professional and ethical standards.
(d) In appropriate cases, clients are assessed for mental
illness, addiction, and other underlying issues and a client
rehabilitation plan is provided to the sentencing judge. The plan
shall use available community resources, rather than incarceration,
where appropriate.
(4) The commission shall not interfere with the reasonable
professional judgment exercised by an attorney in connection with
his or her representation of an individual eligible for public
defense services.
Sec. 7. The commission may enter into agreements and contracts
with departments and agencies of the judicial or executive branch
of state government, as well as local units of government,
including counties and municipalities, to carry out its duties
under this act.
Sec. 8. (1) The commission shall establish policies governing
the manner in which cases are allocated to assigned counsel to
ensure that cases are allocated in a fair and equitable manner.
(2) The commission shall require assigned counsel to comply
with all commission policies, office procedures, and this act,
including those regarding qualifications, performance, training,
continuing education, supervision, workloads, conflicts of
interest, and reporting.
(3) The commission shall require assigned counsel to have the
physical facilities, equipment, access to professionals, including
experts and investigators, and administrative support to provide
effective assistance of counsel.
(4) The office shall establish procedures to ensure assigned
counsel's compliance with commission policies and this act.
(5) The commission shall establish a reasonable compensation
schedule for assigned counsel.
(6) The office shall ensure payments to assigned counsel are
made in a timely fashion.