Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Indigent Defense topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Special-assignment indigent-defense team outlines plan to support rural Ogemaw County cases
Summary
Representatives from a special-assignment defense program told the Ogemaw County board they will use a roster of attorneys to fill gaps in rural courtrooms, said the county is a foster site, and offered open data and quality-control processes; commissioners thanked them and raised procedural questions.
Representatives from a special-assignment indigent-defense team presented to the Ogemaw County Board of Commissioners, saying the program supplies vetted defense attorneys to rural counties facing shortages. The presenters identified themselves as William, the program’s manager-side counsel, and Michael Naughton, who said the team has operated for about three years and that Ogemaw County will serve as a foster county for the program.
"We're really, really happy to be part of Ogemaw County specifically," Naughton said, and added that the program has "over 350 cases" in its public dataset. He described an increasing shortage of attorneys and prosecutors across Michigan and said the team acts as a stopgap by matching qualified attorneys to cases in rural jurisdictions.
William (program counsel) said the group prepares case-surveys and maintains a roster of roughly 120 attorneys across the state, and that the team uses qualification surveys and regional-first placement to ensure appropriate matches. "We have a system that has a shortage... We know that it's being condensed in Detroit, and so we want to make sure that we're doing our part to do that," Naughton said.
Board members asked operational questions about caseloads and oversight; presenters said program data and case-load details are publicly accessible and available to county staff. Commissioners also noted the arrangement is funded through state channels rather than Ogemaw County tax levy lines, and presenters confirmed the special-assignment role is a pass-through coordinated with the state.
The presentation concluded with commissioners expressing appreciation for the service and a desire to review data and follow up with the presenters about local implementation and any pilot tasks for Ogemaw County.
