Testimony of Robin Dahlberg, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program, Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security

Regarding the State of Public Defense Services in Michigan

I am pleased to testify on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, its 53 affiliates and more than 500,000 members nationwide, concerning the failure of states, such as Michigan, to adequately fund and administer their indigent defense systems. I currently sit on the Board of Directors of the Michigan Campaign for Justice, a broad-based group of organizations and individuals from across the political spectrum fighting for a fair and effective public defense system in Michigan. I am also counsel for plaintiffs in Duncan v. Granholm, a lawsuit filed in Michigan state court challenging inadequacies in public defender programs in three Michigan counties – Berrien, Genesee and Muskegon.