In back-to-back years, the Sixth Amendment Center revealed that Public Defense in Detroit was failing. Both the contract and institutional Public Defender were failing to provide competent counsel in every case. For the largest city in Michigan, the future seemed dire. Then, the Neighborhood Defender Services extended their non-profit Public Defender Model to the city, and for the first time in a long time, there was a glimmer of hope for holistic defense in Detroit. Joining Hunter to speak about the challenges, trials, and hope for a better future for Detroit Public Defense is Cait De Mott Grady, Jonathan Roberts, and Tom Molina-Durate from the NDS Detroit Union. As with most union episodes, the demands of the union are similar: better pay for core staff and meaningful restrictions on workload. Hopefully, the contract negotiations will support the struggling workers of NDS Detroit and provide a spark for the continued improvement of Public Defense in Detroit.
Guests:
Cait De Mott Grady, Staff Attorney and Union Member, NDS Detroit
Jonathan Roberts, Staff Attorney and Union Member, NDS Detroit
Tom Molina-Duarte, Social Worker and Union Member, NDS Detroit
Resources:
NDS Detroit:
https://neighborhooddefender.org/locations/detroit/
Sixth Amendment Center Wayne County Reports:
https://sixthamendment.org/wayne-county-report/
https://sixthamendment.org/wayne-county-report-2019/
Follow the Union on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NDSUnion
Follow the Union on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ndsunion/
