A report that was brought to light by the Michigan Campaign for Justice is forcing the State of Michigan to take a look at it's public defender system.
The report notes that in Detroit, only five part-time public defenders handle between 2,400 and 2,800 cases a year, spending an average of 32 minutes on each case. The national standard for public defenders is 400 cases per year. And some courts, according to the report, do not provide public defenders at all for misdemeanor cases, and others are so overwhelmed with cases that they will “offer to let people get out of jail for time-served if they agree not to ask for an attorney.”Technorati Tags: michigan, public defender, michigan campaign for justice, prison
State slammed in report detailing public defender deficiencies.
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