(COLDWATER) — Branch County Administrator Bud Norman told County Commissioners during their work session on Thursday that the county’s first amount of funds from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission should arrive by October.
Norman said it would come out to about 20 percent of the $523,000 the county requested. The annual local share would be over $151,000.
Norman said the Branch County Indigent Defense system would have five attorneys. Three would be on contract but they don’t have a public defender or an assistant public defender yet.
Infrastructure for the office will also have to be set up and a location still has to be found.
The County has until April 1st, 2019 to meet the requirement. Norman is expected to present more information to Commissioners during their next work session on August 24th.
Chris Denny from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission told Commissioners last year that each county in Michigan was required to create an indigent defense plan due to a 2012 lawsuit. Part of the settlement called for the State of Michigan to implement a plan so that a defendant who was indigent would have proper legal representation.
