WE CAN DO BETTER – Part 10

WE CAN DO BETTER – Part 10

By Alan Miller, Candidate for Judge Superior Court II 

Fairness and Defense Attorneys 

There are problems within the county court system. In the next several weeks, I will post my proposals that outline how I think we can do better. 

Today, I will continue to discuss my proposals related to fairness in the courts. 

No public defender appointments at initial hearing 

Currently in Dearborn Superior Court II, public defenders are often appointed at a defendant’s initial hearing, the hearing at which one is advised of the crimes with which they have been charged. As an illustration, I will again reference the period of December 1, 2011 through May 31, 2012, discussed in Part 9. During this period of time, public defenders were appointed in 186 of 523 cases filed in Dearborn Superior II. Of these 186 cases, 131 cases were assigned public defenders at the initial hearing, or 70% of the time.  

While it is commendable to see to it that an attorney is appointed as soon as possible in one’s case, it also increases the reliance on public defenders. Additionally, it takes the decision as to whom a defendant may wish to hire as an attorney away from the defendant, instead placing that decision in the hands of the judge. Not only does this create issues in the marketplace, it is also a practice that is ripe for abuse. In some instances, public defenders are appointed to individuals who have already posted a bond, displaying the means necessary to hire their own attorney.  

When elected, I would like to adopt the approach already in place in Dearborn Superior Court No. 1. There, the court often gives the individual a short period of time to seek out private counsel of their own choosing before selecting an attorney for them. This ensures that the person truly cannot afford an attorney before burdening the taxpayer with a public defender appointment. I would also revisit a public defender appointment where the individual had posted a bond. If they have the money necessary to secure their release, they could very well have the money to hire their own attorney at their own expense, not that of the taxpayer.  

This is the tenth part of my platform statement; a detailed proposal for how to improve our current justice system. It will be released over the next several months through facebook.com/makeitmiller2012 and makeitmiller2012.com. PLEASE feel free to forward this to your friends and family.
Thanks for your continued support!

Alan Miller