Muskegon County prosecutor urges board to address staffing imbalance with public defender office

During the public-comment portion of the Muskegon County board meeting, Prosecutor DJ Hilson said he supports the public defender's office expansion but asked the board to recognize and address what he called a staffing inequity between prosecution and indigent defense.

Hilson told commissioners: "my office handles 100% of the criminal cases that come into the system" and said the public defender's office only "see[s] 70% of what we see," an imbalance he said shows up in numbers of lawyers, investigators and support staff. He told the board he does not oppose the defender office's work — "they're doing a great job" — but asked the board to continue supporting his office so he can "balance that out." He also referenced state-level indigent defense funding changes (MIDC) and association efforts to make more sustainable funding available.

Commissioners asked for clarification of the 100/70 figures and whether the 70 percent referenced indigency rates; Hilson and other commissioners discussed that 70 percent of criminal cases involve indigent defense requests in some counties and said the share can vary by county. Hilson estimated that larger counties may show different ratios and noted statewide efforts to stabilize funding for indigent defense; he referenced nearly $200 million in association efforts to expand sustainable funding, and said the board's support may be needed if state funding does not fully equalize resources between offices.

The board did not take any formal action on Hilson's comments during the meeting; his remarks were entered during the public-comment period and commissioners acknowledged their interest in balancing resources across criminal-justice offices.