San Francisco Public Defender's office calls for equal rights
Ruling a call to action for next Legislature for public defense reform
For Immediate Release
Dec. 1, 2010
Contact: Matt Resch (517) 862-2075
Yesterday, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed its own ruling from July and reaffirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in Duncan et. al. v. State of Michigan sending the case back to the Ingham County Circuit Court for further hearings.
In 2009, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected the State of Michigan’s request to dismiss Duncan et. al. v. State of Michigan. In the Duncan case, plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit from three counties asked the court to declare that failures in Michigan’s public defense system violated their right to counsel under the U.S. and Michigan Constitutions.
In April of this year, the Supreme Court affirmed the Michigan Court of Appeals ruling in Duncan only to reverse itself with another ruling three months later.
The following is a statement in response to yesterday’s court action from Laura Sager, executive director of the Michigan Campaign for Justice, the nonpartisan coalition working with lawmakers to reform Michigan’s system of providing defense counsel to people unable to afford an attorney.
“As the nonpartisan coalition working with state lawmakers to reform Michigan’s failing public defense system, we are very pleased that the Supreme Court has reversed course and ruled once again to allow the Duncan case to move forward. This ruling is good news and it is a call to action for new state lawmakers preparing to come to Lansing in January that as they develop their Michigan reform agenda, public defense reform is an important constitutional problem that requires their attention.”
NOTE: The Campaign for Justice is not involved with the Duncan lawsuit. For more information regarding the litigation, please contact Michael Steinberg at 313-578-6814.
For additional information about legislative efforts to reform Michigan’s public defense system, please contact Laura Sager at 517-775-3924
