Sec. 11.
(1) The MIDC shall establish minimum standards, rules, and procedures to effectuate the following:
(a) The delivery of indigent criminal defense services shall be independent of the judiciary but ensure that the judges of this state are permitted and encouraged to contribute information and advice concerning that delivery of indigent criminal defense services.
(b) If the caseload is sufficiently high, indigent criminal defense services may consist of both an indigent criminal defender office and the active participation of other members of the state bar.
(c) Trial courts shall assure that each criminal defendant is advised of his or her right to counsel. All adults, except those appearing with retained counsel or those who have made an informed waiver of counsel, shall be screened for eligibility under this act, and counsel shall be assigned as soon as an indigent adult is determined to be eligible for indigent criminal defense services.
(2) The MIDC shall implement minimum standards, rules, and procedures to guarantee the right of indigent defendants to the assistance of counsel as provided under amendment VI of the constitution of the United States and section 20 of article I of the state constitution of 1963. In establishing minimum standards, rules, and procedures, the MIDC shall adhere to the following principles:
(a) Defense counsel is provided sufficient time and a space where attorney-client confidentiality is safeguarded for meetings with defense counsel's client.
(b) Defense counsel's workload is controlled to permit effective representation. Economic disincentives or incentives that impair defense counsel's ability to provide effective representation shall be avoided. The MIDC may develop workload controls to enhance defense counsel's ability to provide effective representation.
(c) Defense counsel's ability, training, and experience match the nature and complexity of the case to which he or she is appointed.
(d) The same defense counsel continuously represents and personally appears at every court appearance throughout the pendency of the case. However, indigent criminal defense systems may exempt ministerial, nonsubstantive tasks, and hearings from this prescription.
(e) Defense counsel is required to attend continuing legal education relevant to counsel's indigent defense clients.
(f) Defense counsel is systematically reviewed at the local level for efficiency and for effective representation according to MIDC standards.
(3) The following requirements apply to the application for, and appointment of, indigent criminal defense services under this act:
(a) A preliminary inquiry regarding, and the determination of, the indigency of any defendant shall be made by the court not later than at the defendant's first appearance in court. The determination may be reviewed by the court at any other stage of the proceedings. In determining whether a defendant is entitled to the appointment of counsel, the court shall consider whether the defendant is indigent and the extent of his or her ability to pay. The court may consider such factors as income or funds from employment or any other source, including personal public assistance, to which the defendant is entitled, property owned by the defendant or in which he or she has an economic interest, outstanding obligations, the number and ages of the defendant's dependents, employment and job training history, and his or her level of education.
(b) A defendant is considered to be indigent if he or she is unable, without substantial financial hardship to himself or herself or to his or her dependents, to obtain competent, qualified legal representation on his or her own. Substantial financial hardship shall be rebuttably presumed if the defendant receives personal public assistance, including under the food assistance program, temporary assistance for needy families, medicaid, or disability insurance, resides in public housing, or earns an income less than 140% of the federal poverty guideline. A defendant is also rebuttably presumed to have a substantial financial hardship if he or she is currently serving a sentence in a correctional institution or is receiving residential treatment in a mental health or substance abuse facility.
(c) A defendant not falling below the presumptive thresholds described in subdivision (b) shall be subjected to a more rigorous screening process to determine if his or her particular circumstances, including the seriousness of the charges being faced, his or her monthly expenses, and local private counsel rates would result in a substantial hardship if he or she were required to retain private counsel.
(d) A defendant shall be responsible for applying for indigent defense counsel and for establishing his or her indigency and eligibility for appointed counsel under this act. Any oral or written statements made by the defendant in or for use in the criminal proceeding and material to the issue of his or her indigency shall be made under oath or an equivalent affirmation.
History: 2013, Act 93, Imd. Eff. July 1, 2013
Last modified: October 10, 2016