Big Rapids Attorney,
James R. Samuels, has been elected president of the Criminal Defense Attorneys
of Michigan. Samuels served as the elected prosecutor in Mecosta County for 12
years. He’s the only attorney in Michigan to have served on the Board of Directors
of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and later on the Criminal
Defense Attorneys of Michigan Board of Directors.
Samuels intends to continue to advance the education mission
of CDAM:
“During the past decade, CDAM has provided some of the best
cutting edge training for defense attorneys in the country. CDAM is providing
the tools and techniques attorneys need to effectively represent citizens accused
of crimes and to defend the Bill of Rights. In light of the significant number
of innocent people who have been exonerated after years in prison, it becomes
incumbent upon defense attorneys to understand the causes of wrongful
convictions and the means by which such injustices can be prevented. The
closing of the Detroit police crime lab due to sloppy forensic work, together
with the recent report by the National Academy of Sciences calling attention to
the lack of scientific support and scientific rigor in the technologies used by
law enforcement to fight crime, requires defense attorneys to vigorously
challenge the so-called scientific evidence traditionally used in criminal
trials. Junk science has historically played a huge role in wrongful
convictions, and the challenges brought by defense attorneys are causing more
courts to take a second look at what once was considered unassailable.
And, of course, Michigan faces a crisis in its funding of
the indigent defense services (48th in the nation). A legislative fix is in the works, but
in the face of Michigan is shrinking budgets, it remains to be seen whether the
legislature has the wherewithal to fundamentally change the system, or whether
the pending lawsuit would require the Supreme Court to resolve the issue of how
indigent defense services are paid for in the state.”
Samuels is also the first out state attorney to serve as the
president of CDAM. “I hope to
persuade other small town country lawyer’s like myself to become active with
the criminal defense attorneys in Michigan and take advantage of the
outstanding training opportunities that the organization provides. Many of the
best and brightest defense attorneys in Michigan offer their expertise and
experience to our members. That
kind of networking is invaluable.”
PO Box