SADO is growing! Apply now!

Multiple positions open

SADO is the oldest and only state-wide public defender office in Michigan. Our team of attorneys, mitigation and reentry specialists, investigators, paralegals, IT, programmers, administrators, and core staff, work together to fulfill our mission of fighting injustice in the criminal and youth legal system through access, advocacy, compassion, and education.  Read more


Opinion: Staffing shortages have put Michigan's prison system in crisis

Detroit News, September 11, 2024

SADO paralegal Gregory Wines explains how and why – from his first-hand experience after serving almost 29 years in prison -- the staffing shortages in Michigan’s prisons and how they create unsafe and inhumane conditions for both incarcerated individuals and corrections staff.  Read more


Opinion: Judge used legal system to mistreat a child

Detroit News, September 9, 2024

On September 9, SADO youth defense attorneys Taylor Fellows, Maya Menlo, and Joshua Pease published an op-ed in the Detroit News, responding to recent news of a Detroit judge ordering a 15-year old girl to wear a jail uniform and be handcuffed for falling asleep during a school field trip to the judge's courtroom. Read more


MAACS is accepting applications to join the roster

Applications accepted through September 13, 2024

The Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System (MAACS) is accepting applications from conscientious criminal defense attorneys with all levels of criminal appellate experience. Read more


AI and the Law: What’s possible for public defense

From the July – August 2024 Criminal Defense Newsletter

I’m an AI evangelist. That doesn’t always make me friends in the legal community. Typically, when I start to talk to other lawyers about using AI in my work, I get one of two responses:(1) people’s eyes begin to gloss over as if I’m giving Read more


Michigan Indigent Defense Commission

From the July – August 2024 Criminal Defense Newsletter

Attorneys who practice indigent defense in Michigan are paid according to minimum thresholds outlined in the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission’s (MIDC) Standard 8. For full-time employees, the standard outlines guidance for minimum salaries. Read more


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