A Path Forward: New 6AC Report Recommends Hybrid Model to Improve Public Defense in Monroe County, Michigan

Pleading the Sixth: 6AC releases a new report after an evaluation of indigent defense services and feasibility study in Monroe County, Michigan, finding that the county lacks sufficient oversight of the quality of the representation and the necessary safeguards to ensure fiscal accountability. 6AC commends Monroe County leaders for requesting this timely and important study—since on July 24, 2026, Governor Whitmer signed SB081 into law, expanding Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC)’s duties to the indigent defense of youth.

Read the Full Evaluation

Today, 6AC releases a report evaluating adult criminal indigent defense services in Monroe County’s trial courts. Monroe County requested this evaluation and a feasibility study to assess its current indigent defense delivery model and determine what system is most appropriate to deliver services. 6AC recommends structural reforms—including creating a public defender office and robust data and billing support—to ensure that every indigent receives constitutionally adequate representation.

Indigent Defense Services in Monroe County, Michigan

The state of Michigan delegates the responsibility of establishing and administering indigent defense services to local governments. Each local system is responsible for determining the method(s) of delivering right to counsel services in compliance with statewide standards promulgated by MIDC. Over the past decade, MIDC developed a series of standards, and local governments have adapted their delivery systems to comply with these standards.

All right to counsel services in Monroe County are provided by private attorneys, paid at an hourly rate. The county-based Indigent Defense Department is responsible for contracting with, and overseeing, private attorney providers. Consistently over the years, the county has aimed to comply with MIDC standards as quickly and effectively as possible and has implemented innovative tools to do so. In fact, Monroe County was the first in its region to completely digitalize its attorney billing system, a major step towards fiscal accountability.

Adapting an existing system to comply with new standards is no easy task. Monroe County’s indigent defense system today is a result of cumulative changes over time, and 6AC commends the county’s policymakers for wanting to ensure that the resulting system is sustainable and constitutionally compliant.

Evaluation Findings

6AC’s evaluation determined that the county’s current system lacks effective quality oversight and fiscal accountability. Although the county has established attorney qualification, training, and supervision requirements, it is not implementing these practices in a way that guarantees every attorney is qualified and trained for the complexity of their assigned cases or supervised regularly and meaningfully. The county also lacks the ability to collect accurate and complete workload data to ensure attorneys have sufficient time to provide effective representation.

Without effective oversight, indigent defendants suffer the consequences. 6AC uncovered ineffective early representation, excessive workloads, a lack of ongoing client communication, a lack of attorney training, and minimal actual litigation.

6AC’s evaluation also found a financial system lacking the necessary safeguards to ensure the efficient use of government funds. Private attorneys bill time spent providing representation on individual cases. With no cap on billable hours and without clear policies and guidance on time recording, the county cannot effectively ensure reasonable billing practices. Moreover, despite digitalizing its billing system, the county does not capture information in a way that informs attorney performance oversight.

Looking Forward

6AC recommends changes to the structure of the indigent defense system to fix these issues. Because the county’s caseload is large enough to establish a public defender office (and it will likely only grow with the expansion into the indigent defense of youth), while still requiring a private attorney component, 6AC recommends a hybrid model combining government-employed public defenders and private attorneys.

6AC congratulates Monroe County for requesting this evaluation and for taking steps towards strengthening its right to counsel services, and it also commends the State of Michigan in making great strides since its creation of MIDC to work closely with local governments to provide indigent defendants with effective assistance of counsel.