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Case Name
Wayne County Criminal Defense Assn. v. Wayne Circuit Court
PD-MI-0001
Docket / Court
Docket No. Not Available ( State Court )
State/Territory
Michigan
Case Type(s)
Indigent Defense
Case Summary
On November 12, 2002, the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association and the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Chief Judges of Wayne County Circuit Court, in the Supreme Court of Michigan. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, sought declaratory and ...
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On November 12, 2002, the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association and the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan filed a lawsuit against the Chief Judges of Wayne County Circuit Court, in the Supreme Court of Michigan. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, sought declaratory and injunctive relief from alleged systemic violations of the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and Article 1, Section 20 of the Michigan Constitution. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants, judges tasked with establishing compensation for defenders of indigent felons, had implemented an unreasonable fee schedule that overworked court-appointed defense attorneys to the point of violating their statutory rights as well as the Constitutional rights of the indigent defendants.
Both parties filed several briefs on this matter, and on June 27, 2003, the Supreme Court of Michigan issued its opinion. The Court denied the plaintiffs' complaint, holding that they had not shown that the fee schedule provided unreasonable compensation to court-appointed counsel. In his concurrence, Chief Justice Corrigan noted that attorneys could apply for additional fees in exceptional cases, and that Michigan's public defender fee schedule was comparable to the national average. Wayne Co. Criminal Defense Bar Ass'n v. Chief Judges of Wayne Circuit Court 663 N.W.2d 471, 472 (Mich. 2003).
We have no further information on this case.
Nick Niles - 07/11/2007
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Crowding
Crowding / caseload
General
Funding
Quality of representation
Causes of Action
State law
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Wayne Circuit Court Judges
Wayne County
Plaintiff Description
Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Assn (non-profit, voluntary association of lawyers who accept criminal assignments in Wayne County); Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (nonprofit whose members are appointed in criminal cases in Wayne County Cir Ct).
Class action status sought
No
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer
No
Nature of Relief
None
Source of Relief
None
Filed
11/12/2002
Case Closing Year
2003
Case Ongoing
No
Additional Resources
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Securing Reasonable Caseloads: Ethics and Law in Public Defense
Date: 2011
By: Norman Lefstein (Indiana University--Indianapolis Faculty)
Citation: (ABA 2011)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel.
Date: Apr. 14, 2009
By: National Right to Counsel Committee (The Constitution Project)
Citation: National Right to Counsel Committee, Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
[ External Link ]
The Third Generation of Indigent Defense Litigation
New York University Review of Law and Social Change
Date: 2009
By: Cara Drinan (Columbus School of Law, Catholic University Faculty)
Citation: 33 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 427 (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Indigent Defense Reform: The Role of Systemic Litigation in Operationalizing the Gideon Right to Counsel
Date: May 7, 2007
By: Vidhya K. Reddy (Washington University in St. Louis Law Student)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
State Court of Appeals
06/27/2003
122709
PD-MI-0001-9000.pdf
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Detail
General Documents
U.S. Supreme Court
11/08/2002
Complaint For Writ of Superintending Control
PD-MI-0001-0001.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
11/08/2002
Memorandum in Support of Request for Writ of Superintending Control
PD-MI-0001-0002.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
11/08/2002
Affidavit of Robert L. Spangenberg in Support f Plaintiff’s Complaint for Superintending Control
PD-MI-0001-0003.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
11/08/2002
Affadvit of Matthew Evans
PD-MI-0001-0004.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
03/31/2003
Michigan Supreme Court Opinion (table)
(659 N.W.2d 239)
PD-MI-0001-0008.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Westlaw
State Supreme Court
05/06/2003
Plaintiffs' Reply Memorandum in Support of their Request for Writ of Superintending Control
PD-MI-0001-0005.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
05/08/2003
Brief of Amicus Curiae National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
PD-MI-0001-0006.pdf
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Detail
State Supreme Court
06/27/2003
Order [Re: Motion for Relief]
(663 N.W.2d 471)
PD-MI-0001-0007.pdf
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WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: Google Scholar
People
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Judges
Cavanagh, Michael F.
Court not on record
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PD-MI-0001-0007
Corrigan, Maura D.
(State Supreme Court)
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PD-MI-0001-0007
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Eaman, Frank D
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0001 | PD-MI-0001-0002 | PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006 | PD-MI-0001-9000
Sieve, Brian D
(Illinois)
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PD-MI-0001-0001 | PD-MI-0001-0002 | PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Slade, Michael B
(Illinois)
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PD-MI-0001-0001 | PD-MI-0001-0002 | PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Defendant's Lawyers
Elder, Azzam E
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Ellsworth, Peter H.
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006 | PD-MI-0001-9000
Gazall, Robert S
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Mason, Ellen E
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Stuckey, Jeffery V.
(Michigan)
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PD-MI-0001-0005 | PD-MI-0001-0006
Other Lawyers
Pinales, Martin Stanley
(Ohio)
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PD-MI-0001-0006
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