About Indigent Defense

What is the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission? (MIDC)

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act was enacted in 2013.

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) is a state agency overseen by the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). The MIDC’s website contains a wealth of valuable information.

Every Indigent Defense "System" in Michigan is required to comply with the MIDC Standards that have been approved by LARA and funded through a state grant. Indigent Defense Systems are defined based on court funding units. Therefore, Oakland County's "System" covers the 6th Circuit Court and the four divisions of the 52nd District Court.

What is the Indigent Defense Services Office? (IDSO)

The mission of the Oakland County IDSO is to provide competent, caring, and effective legal representation to every person charged with a crime in our system who cannot afford to hire an attorney.

The IDSO was created by Oakland County in October of 2021 to ensure that our system complies with MIDC Standard 5, which requires attorney appointments to be managed by a department that is independent from the judiciary.

The Chief Attorney of the IDSO, along with the other staff members, are responsible for providing appointed attorneys to people who meet all of the following criteria:

• Are indigent, meaning the person cannot afford to hire an attorney;
• Are an adult;
• Are charged with a felony crime in any Oakland County court OR are charged with a misdemeanor crime in the 52nd District Court (Novi, Clarkston, Rochester Hills, or Troy).

Note that the definition of "adult" in this context includes a person less than 18 years of age under the following four circumstances:

1. When the prosecutor charges the person as an adult (i.e. an "auto-waiver" case);
2. When the prosecutor files a petition asking the court to waive jurisdiction (i.e. a "traditional waiver")
3. When the prosecutor designates a case under MCL 712A.2d
4. When the prosecutor files a petition asking the court to designate a case under MCL 712A.2d

The IDSO cannot appoint attorneys on any Juvenile or Probate cases, except under the circumstances listed above. If you have questions about a Juvenile or Probate appointment, please look at the Circuit Court website or Probate Court website.

Please note - there have been amendments to the MIDC Act which will take effect on October 1, 2027. These amendments may eventually bring appointments for juvenile delinquency cases under the IDSO. However, this has not happened yet, and will not happen until the MIDC enacts specific juvenile defense standards.

How have we improved indigent defense in Oakland County?

In 2021, Oakland County commissioned the 6th Amendment Center (6AC) to conduct an extensive evaluation of our indigent defense system. Since 6AC's Report was issued in October of 2022, Oakland County has implemented most of the recommendations, including:

• Creation of an employee-based Public Defender's Office;
• Discontinuation of flat-fee attorney payments and implementation of hourly fees;
• Discontinuation of attorney-fee reimbursement orders in the District and Circuit courts;
• Limits to attorney workloads in compliance with MIDC Standard 6