Juvenile Justice Reform

In 1967, the US Supreme Court held that juveniles are equally entitled to Due Process protections, including a right to counsel. Key findings identified in a 2020 National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) report recommends that Michigan “ensure that county-based juvenile defense delivery systems provide effective trial-level or post-disposition services, as constitutionally required.

The Michigan Task Force on Juvenile Justice Reform in 2022 found that Michigan has no centralized structure and minimum standards, supports, or resources for juvenile public defense statewide, and:
- There is no statewide system nor are there standards or monitoring processes in place to ensure that youth in the juvenile justice system receive adequate defense services.
- Lack of statewide funding for juvenile defense has resulted in significant variation in local systems in terms of accessibility to trained, qualified defenders; the types of services that are available; and when in the court process counsel is appointed.

HB 4630, the only bill that did not pass last year as part of the statewide juvenile justice reform package would ensure that youth defendants in Michigan have equal treatment and legal representation across the state, and require the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) to oversee the creation of minimum standards for youth defense in Michigan, just as they have for adult defense.

HB 4630 would expand the scope of the MIDC to include indigent youth and create new standards for a state-funded system for indigent youth defense statewide and require the state to fund, at minimum, a system of youth defense that: compensates attorneys at an agreed upon structure and rate, ensures attorneys are compensated for thoroughly representing their clients, and attorneys have the training required to meet the needs of the client.

Advancing Equity

Living in a low-income household increases the likelihood that youth will engage in risky behaviors and low-income youth reliant on a public defender are more likely to receive harsher adjudication at each step of the process. Over-policing of Black communities leads to increased police involvement, and a lack of school funding and community-based resources combine to a system that refers white youth to community-based services and Black youth to the courts.

Black youth in Michigan are more than 3 times likely to live in poverty as white youth, ensuring they are unable to afford a private attorney. While arrest rates are 3:1, Black youth are detained at 5.1 times the rate of white youth. The length of detention is also concerning, with Black youth being detained for a week longer than white youth - 39 days vs 32 days, on average. These rates show Black youth receiving harsher judgment and penalties throughout the judicial process and without adequate public defenders, intersectionality of race and poverty compounds youths’ experience.

HB 4630 intends to create a system to mitigate the compounding factors of race and poverty in the judicial system. While state funding for attorneys will not eliminate disparities between public defenders and counsel retained by families that can afford to pay out of pocket, a minimum standard of service statewide would prevent county-by-county variances, provide attorneys trained to meet the unique needs of youth regardless of their ability to pay, and will make a proportionately large impact on access to effective counsel for Black youth and youth in low income households