Michigan State Appellate Defender Office and Criminal Defense Resource Center

Top Stories

Project Reentry Publishes Newsletter for Returning Citizens

The Drum: Articles, Stories, and Resources for the JLWOP Community

The November 2018 issue of The Drum is now available. The Drum is a publication, produced by SADO’s Project Reentry, featuring articles by and for former juvenile lifers returning to the community. The Drum also identifies a wide variety of resources for returning citizens, including financial budgeting, employment opportunities, and community tips. This month’s issue features an article about the Fidelity Bonding Program of Michigan, a spotlight on James Howard, job postings, a poem by Project Reentry intern Jose Hernandez, and the final installment of the PTSD's awareness series. Read More

SADO Attorneys Obtain Positive Outcomes for Clients on Appeal

SADO attorneys have obtained positive outcomes for clients on appeal in several recently decided cases on issues including prosecutorial error, OV scoring, consecutive sentencing, and disproportionate sentencing. Read More

SADO Seeks Summer 2019 Interns

Applications Accepted on Rolling Basis through February 1, 2019

SADO is seeking first and second-year law students for fulltime summer 2019 internships to assist in representing indigent defendants seeking post-conviction relief (Detroit office) or juvenile lifers seeking resentencing (Detroit and Lansing offices). The SADO summer internship programs run from late May 2019 through early August 2019. The internships are unpaid, but SADO will assist in securing course credit or fellowship funding. Read More

SADO's Project Reentry Presents "Your Best Life Reentry Workshop Series"

Next Workshop: Mental Wellness, November 18, 2-4pm

SADO’s Project Reentry facilitates the Your Best Life Reentry Workshop Series aimed at assisting returning citizens with essential life skills necessary for a successful transition home. SADO has hosted workshops focused on technology, employment, finances, general support, relationships, taxes, and more. On November 18, 2018, YBL will present the Mental Wellness Workshop. The workshop, led by the Western Michigan University Counseling Psychology Graduate Student Organization, will explore common mental health experiences returned citizens might encounter, resources for receiving services, and much more! Read More

Jessica Zimbelman Hired as the First MAACS Litigation Support Counsel

The Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System (MAACS), a division of the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) that oversees a roster of about 150 private attorneys handling 2300 court-appointed felony appeals per year, has hired Jessica Zimbelman as the first Litigation Support Counsel, an innovative new position that will focus on training and supporting MAACS roster attorneys and managing state-funded investigative and expert services for MAACS cases. Read More

View Past Stories

Media Releases

This project was funded by the Byrne JAG grant #2010-DJ-BX-0003, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and administered by the Michigan state Police (MSP). Points of view or opinions contained within this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the MSP or DOJ.