BATTLE CREEK, MI (WTVB) – Calhoun County Administrator Kelli Scott has announced that 54-year-old David Makled of Hastings has been appointed as the county’s first chief public defender.
His office will represent indigent defendants who can not afford legal counsel.
Each county in Michigan has been 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.
Branch County submitted its contract with the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission about a month ago.
The next step is to hire a public defender for the Branch County program.
