MACOMB COUNTY OFFICE OF PUBLIC DEFENDER
Erin Freers-Cole
Macomb County Public Defender
The Macomb County Office of Public Defender was created to help protect the Constitutional rights of the accused by managing the Macomb County Indigent Criminal Defense System. In the Bill of Rights, the 6th Amendment provides, among other things, that an accused person will have the right to assistance of counsel for his defense. The Macomb County Office of Public Defender plays an important role in securing an attorney to represent indigent persons charged with crimes. The Department is a relatively new one, first created in 2020.
Creation of the Office of Public Defender
The Macomb County Office of Public Defender was formed in March of 2020 with goals of:
- Increasing the quality of legal representation of indigent clients charged with criminal offenses,
- Meeting indigent defense standards to better satisfy 6th Amendment guarantees,
- Creating and maintaining the Indigent Defense System in Macomb County.
The Macomb County Office of Public Defender was formed in 2020 with the goal of increasing the quality of legal representation of indigent clients being charged with crimes. Separated from the judiciary, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender is part of the Macomb County Executive Office.
The concept of creating a Public Defender Office in Macomb County was embraced by and embedded in the 2009 Home Rule Charter of Macomb County. The Charter authorized the creation of an Office of Public Defender in Macomb County.[1]
An independent catalyst for the formation of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender was a statewide movement to elevate the quality of indigent criminal defense. The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, (MIDC), was created to evaluate and make recommendations concerning indigent criminal defense. In 2013 the MIDC was made permanent by statute and charged with the development and implementation of minimum standards for the provision of indigent defense services across the State. The MIDC created attorney Standards which were mandated for all funding units providing indigent defense services both in Macomb County and throughout the state. MIDC Standards for Michigan indigent defense systems were crafted and statutorily mandated, taking guidance from the “ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense System” (2002).[2] The incrementally adopted MIDC Standards in Michigan are:
MIDC Standards[3]
| Standard 1 | Education & Training of Attorney | adopted 2017 |
| Standard 2 | Initial interview | adopted 2017 |
| Standard 3 | Investigators & Experts | adopted 2017 |
| Standard 4 | Counsel at first appearance & critical stages | adopted 2017 |
| Standard 5 | Independence from judiciary | adopted 2020 |
| Standard 6 | Indigent defense workloads | adopted 2023 |
| Standard 7 | Qualifications & review | adopted 2023 |
| Standard 8 | Attorney compensation | adopted 2022 |
| Indigency | Standard for determining indigency & contribution | adopted 2021 |
Macomb County adopts these Standards as part of the Macomb County Indigent Defense System. These MIDC Standards are statutory funded mandates. Through reporting requirements and otherwise, MIDC monitors compliance with these Standards. Overall funding of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender is from a combination of Macomb County funding and MIDC grant funds. The Macomb County Office of Public Defender is separate from oversight by the Court and reports to the Macomb County Executive.
Attorneys at the Macomb County Office of Public Defender
On March 23, 2020, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender began its mission in an assigned space in the Clemens Center in Mount Clemens. The Macomb County Executive Office hired Thomas J. Tomko as its Public Defender Administrator. Work began transferring the court operated indigent defense system process to the Macomb County Office of Public Defender. The indigent defense system involves around 200 Roster Attorneys. Representation is provided for indigent defendants in Macomb County felony cases.
One goal of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender is to match each indigent client facing felony charges with a competent attorney that can advance the client’s interests. This goal is satisfied by assigning either a Roster Attorney or a Public Defender Employee Attorney to each defendant’s case.
The Macomb County Office of Public Defender started its mission in 2020 with a single attorney. By 2026, the office had grown to employing 18 attorneys and 16 support personnel. The office aspires to directly represent 25% of the felony cases filed each year in Macomb County, and to administer the Roster Attorney System which handles the remaining cases in Macomb County. In addition, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender makes indigent defense attorney assignments in misdemeanor cases filed in certain Macomb County District Courts.[4]
Expansion of the Office of Public Defender
With continued efforts to accomplish the Mission Statement, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender needed to expand. Hiring needs outgrew the original office space. More space was needed. With the support of the County Executive, and through assistance of grant funding, additional space was renovated in the Clemens Center in Mount Clemens to accommodate more personnel.
In early 2023, construction started to repurpose vacant space in the Clemens Center. When complete, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender moved to its current location at 22 Market Street in November of 2023. Features of the office include 22 offices, 11 cubicle spaces, a reception area, 2 small conference rooms and a media room that can accommodate up to 30 people. The media room facilitates client meetings and in-house trainings, some of which include: CDAM Evidence Bootcamps, Arson Investigation, NARCAN training, Regional MIDC Conference, and monthly Think Tank meetings.
The Mission of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender
The Mission Statement of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender is two-fold. There is both an administrative function and a representative function.
Administrative function
To operate, supervise and manage the Macomb County system of providing counsel for indigent defendants.
Representative function
To competently, effectively, and vigorously protect and defend the constitutional rights of indigent clients represented by attorneys in the Macomb County Office of Public Defender.
The overall goal is to administer a vibrant system of indigent defense attorneys and to elevate the quality of criminal indigent defense. This is done by managing a system which seeks to meet and exceed Constitutional requirements, ethical standards, and MIDC Standards.
Structure of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender
As of 2026, the organizational structure of the Macomb County Office of Public Defender involves 18 attorneys and 16 staff members. The attorney positions include a Chief Public Defender, two Deputy Chiefs, 6 Principal Trial Attorneys, 9 Staff Attorneys II, and 3 Staff Attorneys I. Support personnel include an Administrative Assistant, Office Manager, 2 Administrative Coordinators, 4 paralegals, and 5 Office Assistant Seniors. In addition, there are 2 Social Workers and 2 Investigators.
The Macomb County Office of Public Defender is one of 5 Counties across the State of Michigan which participate in a Holistic Fellowship Program. In this program, Law Students and Social Work Students are given guidance and experience focused on a holistic defense approach. Both this student-based program and representation provided by Public Defender Attorneys promote a client centered approach seeking to address both the client’s current legal issues and individual issues. This holistic approach may address things like substance abuse, mental health issues, housing issues, employment problems, and other individualized needs.
Striving To Improve Indigent Defense
Together, attorneys and staff at the Macomb County Office of Public Defender work diligently to level the playing field for clients and provide dignity in representation. Indigent clients often face an avalanche of unbalanced resources brought to bear against them by police, detectives, deputies, investigators, forensic examiners, experts, and prosecutors. The tireless efforts of the Macomb County Public Defender Office help to bring fairness to the system. These efforts seek to protect the liberty of indigent clients, improve quality of representation, and defend clients' guaranteed Constitutional rights.
[1] Home Rule Charter of Macomb County (6-17-2009 Section 10.7)
[2]ABA Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System
[3] https://michiganidc.gov/standards
[4] In 2025, the Macomb County Office of Public Defender assigns counsel for indigent adults facing misdemeanor charges in the County funded District Courts, 42-1 Romeo and 42-2 New Baltimore, and in the 41A-2 Shelby District Court by Inter-Local Agreement.