This training program will aid those working to defend persons accused of homicide in drug-related overdose deaths. Each section of the program focuses on a different aspect of these cases. CLE is not available for this program.

To help defenders understand the law, the science, and the messaging underlying these prosecutions, NACDL is offering a FREE, on-demand training videos on Defending Drug Overdose Homicides.

Funded by a grant from Vital Strategies, a public health organization committed to building community oriented, science-backed solutions which promote a sustained reduction in overdose deaths, this on-demand training content is designed to educate and empower defenders to tackle these challenging and difficult cases.

This session will focus on “Second Look Sentencing” reforms that seek to provide individuals with the opportunity for resentencing or a sentence reduction after they have served a certain amount of time in prison.

20^th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 18-20, 2021 | Held Virtually

Recording and resources for Second Look = Second Chance: The Case for Reconsidering Lengthy & Other Extreme Sentences, a webinar hosted by NACDL on March 11, 2021.

Michigan’s 1931 criminal abortion statute prohibits a person from performing an abortion unless necessary to preserve the life of the woman. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, the Michigan Supreme Court held the statute unconstitutional “as relating to abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy as authorized by the pregnant woman’s attending physician in the exercise of his medical judgment.” 

For many years, Michigan’s public defense system was deficient, failing to guarantee the effective assistance of counsel required by the Sixth Amendment. Michigan delegated responsibility for providing public defense to individual counties, providing no statewide training for public defense attorneys, no performance standards to govern their practice, and no review of their performance. In 2008, after an extensive investigation, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association issued a report that concluded that Michigan’s systems were some of the nation’s worst. 

NACDL is providing resources regarding the Criminalization of Pregnancy and Reproductive Health to the criminal defense community. Resources are provided without warranty or guarantee. Please consult the laws and rules of your state and local authorities. Please log in to access them. Membership is NOT required.

NACDL is working with a coalition of advocates to end life without parole sentencing for youth in Michigan.

See the various issues on which NACDL has conducted criminal justice advocacy in Michigan. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see active legislation in Michigan that NACDL is tracking. 

NACDL is working with a coalition of advocates in Michigan to draft and propose second look legislation in the state.

Policies and rulings on lengthy imprisonment terms in Michigan.

Information on the policy and history of recording custodial interrogations in Michigan.

Attorney-client communications federal caselaw and state-specific anecdotal data in Michigan

President John Wesley Hall's statement to the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security regarding public defense representation in criminal cases in Michigan and elsewhere.

State of Michigan in The Ionia County Circuit Court: People of The State of Michigan v. Gavitt

Affidavit of John J. Lentini