5/6/02

At its meeting on April 27, the State Bar Representative Assembly approved a proposal to strengthen and improve public defense services. The proposal submitted to the Assembly by the Public Defense Task Force specifies eleven principles that will serve as a foundation for the provision of legal representation to indigent defendants in criminal proceedings. Among the principles were the following: there should be parity between defense counsel and prosecution with respect to resources, and defense counsel is included as an equal partner in the justice system; the selection, funding, and payment of public defense counsel is independent from the judicial process.

These criminal defense assigned counsel principles developed by the Public Defense Task Force are comparable to principles adopted by the American Bar Association in February 2002. In adopting those principles, the ABA called them "the fundamental criteria to be met for a public defense delivery system to deliver effective and efficient, high quality, ethical, conflict-free representation to accused persons who cannot afford to hire an attorney."

The Assembly also approved a proposal regarding and reaffirming the State Bar of Michigan's continued involvement in the screening of candidates for judicial appointment.

The State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly, composed of 150 lawyers from throughout the state, is the final policy making body of the State Bar of Michigan.

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