By Roberta M. Gubbins
Legal News
"I want to take a moment to thank all of you," said Hon. Janelle Lawless, Chief Judge, Ingham County Circuit Court, opening the meeting of the Criminal Law Section of the Ingham County Bar Association, held at the Hall of Fame in Lansing on May 25th.
"I know that the job (appointed criminal defense representation) you do is tough and challenging. We in the court appreciate all that you do."
She then turned the discussion to fees for appointed criminal defense attorneys, noting that due to the present financial conditions, there would be no increases in payment for criminal defense. In fact, "this is the 5th or 6th year" that the county has asked for a five to ten percent reduction in each department's budget.
Honorable Joyce Draganchuk took up the conversation. "I want to also express appreciation for all you do. All of you are as important if not more important than the other parties. If you were not there to defend the client, to make sure he gets a fair trial, our system could not exist.
Judge Draganchuk turned to the topic of fees for experts who assist lawyers with their cases.
She reminded the listeners that the motion for expert witness fees must show a nexus or connection between the need for an expert and the facts of the case. And the request for fees must be filed with the court with notice to the prosecuting attorney.
The problems she sees are two-fold, "First they are ex-parte (without notice to the Prosecutor) and they say something like 'I need a fingerprint expert to present my case.' That statement does not satisfy me that you need an expert."
She recommended the reading of the statute (MCL775.15) and the cases of People v Jacobson (448 Mich 639) or People v Tanner (469 Mich 437) for a complete discussion of what is the sufficient basis to request an expert.
Turning to the issue of investigators, she said, "It is not enough for you to say 'I need an investigator.' We need to know what it is you need, and how much time will it entail," for example, how many witnesses will be interviewed.
"The more you tell us about it, the more information we (judges) have, the better able we are to make an informed decision about your needs. Remember, when those bills come to us for payment, we go strictly by the order so if mileage wasn't in the order, it won't be paid."
Along those lines, she noted that when attorneys put in the bill a large block of time labeled 'trial preparation,' it is not enough information for approval of payment.
"We have to make a determination of whether the hours were reasonable. We do this in civil cases whenever there is an award of attorney fees. The judge has to go through and make a determination of whether the hourly rate is reasonable and whether the hours expended are reasonable so we are quite used to doing that."
She concluded reminding the group again of the necessity for as much information as possible when making requests of the court in order to get approval.
According to Ingham County Circuit Court administrative order, the criminal practice roster is divided into three classifications:
* Level A: Lawyers are eligible for appointment for any felony and are paid by the hour.
* Level B: Lawyers are eligible for all felonies except Murder I, II, Open Murder, and related crimes.
* Level C: Lawyers are eligible for felonies with a sentence of ten years or less.
Attorneys can be reclassified to a higher level after two years of practice and attendance at each of the four criminal defense seminars offered by the court. Applications must be filed at Pretrial Services by January 1 of each year.
This was the last meeting of the Criminal Law Section until fall. Mike Nichols reminded the group to check the Ingham County Bar Association Calendar for the place and time of the first meeting in the fall.
Published: Thu, Jun 7, 2012
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