Detroit Today: Does Michigan’s new budget unfairly tip the criminal justice scale?

On Monday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Michigan’s new $57.4 billion budget into law. Expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year include funds for both county prosecutors and public defense in criminal cases.

Michigan’s indigent defense spending was among the worst in the nation a decade ago. Since then, the state created the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MDIC) and increased spending by $72 million — for a total of $220.9 million — in the current budget.

In light of the recently allocated budget, many prosecutors say they are unfairly underfunded compared to public defense attorneys.

Kalamazoo County prosecuting attorney Jeff Getting and MIDC Executive Director Kristen Staley joined Detroit Today to discuss how they believe the budget should be balanced in the interest of justice.

Listen: Why public defense attorneys and prosecutors have fought for more funding

Guests

Jeff Getting is the prosecutor for Kalamazoo County and president-elect of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Getting says funding is low for both prosecutors and defense attorneys in comparison to the amount of cases they are expected to represent.

“The counties can’t afford to pay for the increased staff that’s necessary in prosecutors’ offices,” Getting states.

Kristin Staley is the executive director of the MDIC. Staley claims Michigan does not give public defenders the governmental support needed to uphold the constitutional right to a fair trial.

“We used to see defense attorneys who literally had to take out loans…so that they could actually continue to practice public defense,” says Staley.