Endorse Resolution
Individuals and organizations are encouraged to read the resolution below and contact us if you would like to be formally included in the growing list of supporters.
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Gideon v Wainwright imposed on the states the responsibility for providing counsel to indigent persons in any case that may result in a loss of liberty;
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan has abdicated this responsibility by placing the burden of providing counsel on its counties, providing virtually no state funding, or fiscal or administrative oversight.
WHEREAS, leaving counties responsible for the funding and administration of their public defense delivery systems places an undue hardship on many counties and results in an uneven quality of justice statewide;
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan’s failure to provide fair and equal justice results in inadequate representation, wrongful convictions, improper sentencing, jeopardized public safety, and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars;
WHEREAS, the Eleven Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System were adopted by the Michigan Public Defense Taskforce in 2002, and by the State Bar of Michigan’s Representative Assembly in 2002, and serve as the fundamental standards for a public defense delivery system to provide effective, efficient, quality, and ethical representation to those in criminal proceedings who cannot afford to hire an attorney;
WHEREAS, Michigan’s trial-level public defense delivery system currently fails to meet the Eleven Principles;
WHEREAS, Michigan’s broken public defense delivery system must be reformed so that it provides fair and equal justice to everyone, maximizes public safety, and uses taxpayer dollars efficiently;
BE IT RESOLVED that <ORGANIZATION> supports the establishment of a state-funded public defense delivery system in Michigan that complies with the Eleven Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System.
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