Budget Shortfalls Allegedly Result in Unqualified Defenders

By Evan Mix

Published on June 17, 2009

Budgetary shortfalls have rendered public defenders' offices in the state of Michigan discriminatory, according to a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and others. The suit, brought on behalf of poor criminal defendants in Genesee, Berrien, and Muskegon Counties, alleges that individuals who cannot afford their own lawyer must rely on unqualified or over-worked public defenders to represent them. As a result, many allegedly do not receive the fair trials to which they are entitled by law.

The Michigan Court of Appeals approved the case this week, meaning it will be heard in court. Though the relevant budgetary decisions are typically made at the local level, the suit claims that the state of Michigan's own budgetary problems and allocation decisions render it ultimately responsible. The suit is aimed at specific counties that the ACLU sees as problematic, but it could influence the way the public defender system works statewide if it is successful.

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