Michigan’s Public Defense Reform Leader Kristin Staley Featured on Public Defenseless

Today on the Public Defenseless Podcast, Hunter sat down with Executive Director of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, Kristen Staley to discuss the Michigan Model of Public Defense. 

 

No one wants the organization described as being in a Race to the Bottom, but that is precisely how the NLADA described the Michigan indigent defense system back more than a decade ago. A piecemeal system, with little state support and massive differences from one county to the next, left NLADA to describe some counties as delivering a "McJustice" style of indigent defense where efficiency trumped quality. 

 

Since that report came out however, Michigan slowly started the long and difficult process of completely overhauling their system. Now, MIDC stands as an example often used to point to for other states seeking to reform their own public defense systems. Tune in to this conversation to understand how it all happened!