subject: Understanding Your Rights To Counsel [print this page] The movement through the Michigan legislature of House Bill 5676, the Public Defense Act, which seeks to provide competent public defense for all, makes an important point for all individuals charged with a crime.
This became evident at a House Judiciary Committee hearing in December 2009 at Wayne State University, where several Michigan miscarriages of justice due to poor legal counsel were discussed.
One such case is Mary Heinan, who spent 26 years in prison for the murder of her husband. Her sentence came in the 1970s, when, as she says, My attorney, who was court-appointed, did not advise or defend me properly. Domestic violence situations were not understood at the time. Another case was Eddie Joe Lloyd, who was imprisoned for 17 years based on a drug-induced false confession for a murder-rape. He was exonerated in 2002 based on DNA results. Incarceration of the wrong people not only violates their civil rights, but imposes millions of dollars of unnecessary costs on the state.
The Constitution guarantees your right to counsel
The right to counsel is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. This is as much the case when working with a private attorney as with a public defender. Our system provides fairness to anyone convicted of a crime, because it is the right thing to do. But it is also a check against power by the government and law enforcement: if the criminal justice system has to find true guilt, the proof needs to be conclusive and beyond the shadow of doubt.
Your criminal law firm in Michigan has an important role in this system. Certainly, Michigan criminal defense law firms have to convincingly prove what technically did or did not occur in the execution of a crime. But criminal law firms in Michigan must also offer a solid defense package that includes the following:
Knowing the court system
Understanding what each individual judge is seeking
Identifying the largest vulnerabilities in the case presented by the prosecutor
