U.S. Attorney General Holder points to Michigan as example of failed indigent defense system

Public defender systems around the nation are not in good shape, but Michigan’s system is so underfunded and unguided that one study earlier this year called it a “constitutional crisis.” Michigan’s cases of failed public legal representation are so shocking that they caught the attention of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

In a speech to those attending the Brennan Center for Justice Legacy Awards Dinner on Monday Holder repeatedly used Michigan as an example of the dangers of a broken public defense system.

“A recent report commissioned by a joint resolution of the Michigan state legislature, for example, found counties in the state where defendants are charged and plead guilty to crimes that carry jail time without ever speaking to a lawyer,” Holder told the group.

Holder’s statements echo a report that aired on NPR in August putting Michigan in the national spotlight for its failing indigent defense system. The segment, which aired on National Public Radio, reported that conditions created by often non-existent public defense resources were forcing innocent people into pleading guilty.

Unfortunately for those without the means to hire an attorney, the national indigent defense system is only getting worse as states trim funding to public defense programs as part of tightening budgets during the recession.

But Holder pointed out in his speech Monday evening that failure to accurately convict criminals due to restricted public defense resources only costs states more money in the long run.

Holder brought up Michigan for a second time in his speech:

“The integrity of our criminal justice system aside, the crisis in indigent defense is also about dollars and cents. An analysis conducted by the State Appellate Defender Office in Michigan found that the state’s failure to invest resources at the trial court level has contributed to the costly imprisonment of defendants whose convictions were later reversed.

He went on to use Michigan as an example a third time, citing a case in which a man, Eddie Joe Lloyd, served nearly 17 years in a Michigan Prison for a rape he didn’t commit until DNA evidence cleared his name in appeals court.

Holder used this Michigan case as an example how the state us losing money by trying to cut public defense costs. “The appeals and the 17 years of imprisonment cost Michigan nearly a million dollars, and that amount does not include the $4 million civil judgment Lloyd later obtained for his wrongful conviction,” Holder said. “And of course there is the real danger to the community of having the actual murderer and rapist remain at large some 20 years later.”