History and Governance
The Criminal Defense Resource Center, formally in existence since 1977 and once known as the Legal Resources Project, is a division of the Michigan State Appellate Defender Office. Between SADO’s launch in 1969 and 1977, criminal defense attorneys increasingly came to rely on the expertise and resources of Michigan’s first statewide public defender office. In early years, support was funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Agency. In 1978, with statutory creation of SADO as an agency, this support role was legislatively authorized and state-funded. MCL 780.716. Since 1978, significant funding support also has been provided by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (formerly Michigan Justice Training Commission), the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Like SADO operations, operations of the CDRC are subject to oversight by the Appellate Defender Commission.
