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Landmark Lawsuit Seeks Repairs to Michigan Justice System
The Michigan Coalition for Justice filed a landmark lawsuit today against the state of Michigan and Governor Jennifer Granholm for failing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to provide adequate defense services to those who cannot afford private counsel. The coalition charges that Michigan has long abdicated its duty to ensure that poor people accused of crimes receive timely, qualified and appropriately resourced lawyers for their defense.
> Landmark Lawsuit Seeks Repairs to Michigan Justice System (2/22/2007)
> Indefensibly Shortchanged Justice
> Michigan Ranks 44th in the Nation for Public Defense Spending
> June 2008 National Legal Aid and Defender Association Report Clippings
> Complaint and Related Content

Bill Ensures Montanans' Constitutional Rights
Montana Legislature's passes groundbreaking public defender legislation (pdf, off-site) that creates a new statewide office and guarantees constitutional rights to all Montanans, not just those who can afford to pay lawyers. "A national movement is underway to protect the legal rights of poor people, and Montana is leading the charge," said Vincent Warren, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU who worked with the local ACLU to promote the law's passage. "A year ago, poor people accused of crimes in Montana regularly had the doors to justice slammed in their faces. Thankfully, for them today is a new day." Read more >>

Supreme Court Strikes Michigan Law
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Michigan law denying legal representation to poor people in a criminal appeal is unconstitutional. The ACLU of Michigan filed the one of a kind case after the law was passed in 1999. Halbert v. Michigan began in 1999 after the state legislature passed a law forbidding judges from appointing counsel to help indigent criminal defendants with appeals where the defendant had pled guilty. "This law further compounds an already inadequate defense system in the state," said Kary Moss, ACLU of Michigan Executive Director. "Removing the right to counsel because someone cannot afford to hire an attorney will have devastating effects for the state." Read more >>

ACLU Applauds DOJ Revision of Right to Counsel Policy (08/28/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Department of Justice’s effort to better protect the American people from overzealous investigations by revising its policy on the right to counsel. However, the ACLU points out that this policy has been revised, at the whim of the deputy attorney general, five times in the last ten years. In order to guarantee a clear and consistent application of this important legal principle, the ACLU urges senators to pass the Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008 (S. 3217) to permanently protect the right to counsel. The legislation was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and has 13 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate.

Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Fixed, Law denies justice to victims (04/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is scheduled to examine reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was originally passed by Congress in 1996 as a way to stem the tide against what were thought to be frivolous lawsuits by prisoners. Since that time, the law has been used repeatedly to deny justice to victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses.

ACLU In Court To Protect Right To Adequate Legal Representation (01/31/2008)
RICHMOND, VA – The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments tomorrow in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union to seek a fair compensation process for lawyers representing indigent defendants in that court. The case involves two court-appointed attorneys whose fees in a death penalty case were cut drastically and without any explanation from the court.

Landmark Lawsuit Seeks Repairs to Michigan Justice System (02/22/2007)
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Coalition for Justice filed a landmark lawsuit today against the state of Michigan and Governor Jennifer Granholm for failing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to provide adequate defense services to those who cannot afford private counsel. The coalition charges that Michigan has long abdicated its duty to ensure that poor people accused of crimes receive timely, qualified and appropriately resourced lawyers for their defense.

Statewide Public Defender Becoming a Reality (06/08/2005)
The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Montana legislature for enacting a precedent-setting bill that creates the state's first ever state-wide public defender office.

Duncan et al v. State of Michigan - Complaint (02/22/2007)

Ensuring Access to Counsel in Ohio: Petition to the Ohio Supreme Court (03/09/2006)
Petition calling for the court to protect children’s right to counsel when they are accused of a crime. Petition was submitted by the ACLU, Children's Law Center and Office of the Ohio State Public Defender.

An Assessment of Indigent Defense Services In Montana, Submitted in the Case White v. Martz, CDV-2002-133 (08/05/2004)

Tesmer v. Granholm Supplemental Statement of Facts (10/23/2002)

Tesmer v. Granholm Petition for Rehearing En Banc (07/10/2002)

Testimony by Senior Staff Counsel Vincent Warren Before the New York State Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense Services (02/15/2005)

Coalition Sign-On Letter to the House Committee on the Judiciary Advising Them on the Blakely v. Washington Decision and Its Effect on the Federal Sentencing System (07/20/2004)

ACLU Letter to Senators of the Judiciary Committee Expressing Concerns about S. 1700, the "Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003" (06/03/2004)

ACLU Letter to the Senate Urging Opposition to S.1735, the Gang Prevention and Effective Deterrence Act of 2003 (04/21/2004)

ACLU Letter to the House Urging Support for H.R. 2282, the Equal Access to Justice Reform Act (03/11/2004)

June 2008 NLADA Report Release (06/01/2008)
The link below leads to news clippings from the NLDA report- "Michigan Ranks 44th in the Nation for Public Defense Spending; So-Called "McJustice" System Puts Communities at Risk"

Duncan et al v. State of Michigan - Executive Summary (02/22/2007)
The state of Michigan has a constitutional obligation to provide counsel to all persons accused of crimes who cannot afford to hire an attorney. The state of Michigan has long abdicated this constitutional duty by failing to fund or provide oversight for public defense services.

Statement - Pamela Anderson (02/22/2007)
The sister of the plaintiff in Duncan et al v. State of Michigan speaks out.

ACLU of WA Report on Indigent Defense (03/01/2004)

NLADA Report: June 2008 News Clips (10/20/2008)
Compiled news clippings from report release.

J.P. v. Taft (10/01/2007)
Protecting incarcerated juveniles' access to the courts in Ohio.

ACLU Applauds DOJ Revision of Right to Counsel Policy (08/28/2008)
Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Department of Justice’s effort to better protect the American people from overzealous investigations by revising its policy on the right to counsel. However, the ACLU points out that this policy has been revised, at the whim of the deputy attorney general, five times in the last ten years. In order to guarantee a clear and consistent application of this important legal principle, the ACLU urges senators to pass the Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2008 (S. 3217) to permanently protect the right to counsel. The legislation was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives and has 13 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate.

Prison Litigation Reform Act Must be Fixed, Law denies justice to victims (04/22/2008)
Washington, DC – The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is scheduled to examine reform of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), which was originally passed by Congress in 1996 as a way to stem the tide against what were thought to be frivolous lawsuits by prisoners. Since that time, the law has been used repeatedly to deny justice to victims of rape, assault, religious rights violations and other serious abuses.

ACLU In Court To Protect Right To Adequate Legal Representation (01/31/2008)
RICHMOND, VA – The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments tomorrow in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union to seek a fair compensation process for lawyers representing indigent defendants in that court. The case involves two court-appointed attorneys whose fees in a death penalty case were cut drastically and without any explanation from the court.

Landmark Lawsuit Seeks Repairs to Michigan Justice System (02/22/2007)
LANSING, MI - The Michigan Coalition for Justice filed a landmark lawsuit today against the state of Michigan and Governor Jennifer Granholm for failing to fulfill their constitutional obligation to provide adequate defense services to those who cannot afford private counsel. The coalition charges that Michigan has long abdicated its duty to ensure that poor people accused of crimes receive timely, qualified and appropriately resourced lawyers for their defense.

Statewide Public Defender Becoming a Reality (06/08/2005)
The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded the Montana legislature for enacting a precedent-setting bill that creates the state's first ever state-wide public defender office.