LANSING, MI (AP)-- A commission set up by Governor Rick Snyder to study ways to improve legal representation for low-income residents charged with a crime is about to complete its work.
The Indigent Defense Advisory Commission is scheduled to hold its final meeting Friday at Cooley Law School. It's expected to ratify and release its recommendations then.
Snyder charged the commission's 14 members with suggesting improvements that will lead to cost-effective, qualified legal counsel provided in a consistent manner around the state. Michigan has one of the nation's stingiest and most fragmented public defense systems. Courts in each county set their own pay rates and hiring systems for public defenders.
The Michigan Campaign for Justice has been pushing for nearly four years to improve Michigan's public defense system.
