Public defender outlines staffing strains under MIDC standards; committee receives report

Public Defender Fortino briefed the committee on quarterly operations and the office’s efforts to meet Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) Standard 6 requirements. The committee voted to receive the report unanimously.

Fortino said MIDC Standard 6 — which sets caseload limits intended to ensure adequate representation — requires felony attorneys not to exceed 150 cases per year and misdemeanor attorneys not to exceed 400 cases per year. He said the standard has been adopted and MIDC has allowed a grace period because many counties face attorney shortages. Fortino reported two current vacancies in the office, 15 staff attorneys in addition to his chief assistant, and a complement of contract attorneys the office can call on to cover cases.

To address capacity, Fortino said the office will implement a summer internship program for law students and is evaluating additional permanent staff and support positions during the county budget process. Fortino and an HR representative said exit interviews show many departing attorneys accepted higher-pay offers from neighboring counties such as Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw.

Committee members asked about remote work, access to case management systems and court scheduling conflicts; Fortino said staff have remote access to case data when needed but generally are expected to work on site, and he described court scheduling challenges that occasionally produce conflicts for attorneys in multiple courtrooms simultaneously. He also said the office is transitioning to a new, more user-friendly case-management system called Defender Data replacement (name provided generically in the presentation).

The committee moved to receive the report; the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: Fortino said the office will continue recruitment and is evaluating budget requests to meet MIDC standards ahead of MIDC’s next review.