Court-Appointed or Retained Counsel in Michigan: How Each Works

A person charged with domestic assault in Michigan has two routes to a lawyer: appointment at public expense for a defendant who cannot afford one, or hiring (retaining) a lawyer privately.^[10] The two differ in who qualifies, who picks the lawyer and who pays. They do not differ in the duties the lawyer owes the client, because the same rules of professional conduct apply to both.^[8][9]

This page explains how each route works. It is not a recommendation of one over the other, and it gives no fee figures.

Side by side

Question	Appointed counsel	Retained counsel
Who qualifies?	A defendant who cannot obtain competent representation without substantial financial hardship.[1]	Anyone who reaches an agreement with a lawyer.
Who chooses the lawyer?	Not the judge: under the commission's Standard 5, selection is not made by the judiciary or by employees reporting to it, and the court refers an eligible defendant to the appropriate agency.[7]	The client.
What does it cost?	Nothing to be screened.[11] Not necessarily free after that: a defendant able to pay part of the cost may be ordered to contribute, and after a plea or a finding of guilt the costs a court may impose include the expenses of providing legal assistance.[4][6]	Whatever the client and lawyer agree, within the rule against clearly excessive fees.[12]
When does it start?	Under the commission's Standard 4, counsel is assigned as soon as the defendant is found eligible, and representation includes the arraignment.[13]	When the lawyer is hired, which can be before any court date.
What standards apply?	The Rules of Professional Conduct plus the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission standards.[14][15]	The Rules of Professional Conduct.[9]
Who decides the plea?	The client.[8]	The client.[8]

How appointed counsel works

When the right applies

In a misdemeanor case, an indigent defendant has a right to an appointed attorney whenever the charged offense requires a minimum jail term on conviction or the court determines it might sentence to a term of incarceration, even if suspended. Without an attorney or a valid waiver, the court may not impose jail or a suspended jail sentence.^[16] At a district court arraignment the defendant must be told of the right to the assistance of an attorney at all court proceedings, including the arraignment, and of the right to an appointed attorney where that rule applies.^[17] In a felony case, the court must advise the defendant at the arraignment on the warrant or complaint of the right to a lawyer at all court proceedings, and to a lawyer at public expense if the defendant wants one and is financially unable to retain one.^[10]

Who is indigent

The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act defines an indigent defendant as one who is unable, without substantial financial hardship to himself or herself or to dependents, to obtain competent, qualified legal representation on his or her own.^[1] Two sources set presumptions, and their figures are different:

• The statute, MCL 780.991(3)(b), rebuttably presumes substantial hardship if the defendant receives personal public assistance (including food assistance, temporary assistance for needy families, Medicaid or disability insurance), resides in public housing, or earns an income less than 140% of the federal poverty guideline.^[1] As of October 2026 the official text of that section carries a notice that it is amended effective October 1, 2027; the amended text was not reviewed for this guide.^[1]
• The commission's indigency standard, approved in October 2021, presumes indigency if the defendant receives personal public assistance, earns a net income less than 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, is serving a sentence in a correctional institution, is under 18, or is receiving residential treatment in a mental health or substance abuse facility.^[11]

Falling above a threshold does not end the inquiry. A defendant who is not presumed indigent must receive a more rigorous screening of whether his or her particular circumstances, including the seriousness of the charges, monthly expenses and local private counsel rates, would make retaining counsel a substantial hardship.^[2] A defendant who can pay some defense costs but not all is "partially indigent."^[11]

How to ask

1. Say at or before the arraignment that you want a lawyer and cannot afford one. Where the local funding unit has designated an appointing authority, the court must refer a defendant who asks for a lawyer and claims inability to pay to that authority for indigency screening.^[18]
2. Complete the application honestly. The defendant is responsible for applying and for establishing eligibility, and statements material to indigency must be made under oath or an equivalent affirmation.^[3]
3. Bring proof of income, benefits, rent or mortgage, debts and dependents. Those are among the factors the statute and court rule list.^[2][18]
4. If you are turned down, you may ask the judge to review the decision; the court reviews the appointing authority's determination de novo.^[18]

The determination must be made no later than the first appearance in court and may be reviewed at any other stage, so a change in circumstances such as a lost job can be raised later.^[2]

What the standards require of appointed lawyers

The commission publishes its standards. They are written for indigent defense systems and appointed counsel, and they say the following:

• An early interview. When a client is in local custody, counsel conducts an initial interview within three business days after appointment; when the client is not in custody, counsel promptly delivers an introductory communication so the client can schedule a meeting. Interviews are to be held in a private and confidential setting to the extent reasonably possible.^[14]
• Investigation. Counsel conducts an independent investigation of the charges as promptly as practicable and requests investigators or experts where reasonably necessary; reasonable requests must be funded.^[15]
• Counsel at the first appearance and afterward. Eligible defendants have appointed counsel at the arraignment, at pretrial proceedings, during plea negotiations and at other critical stages.^[13]
• Training. Counsel must have reasonable knowledge of Michigan criminal law, procedure and the rules of evidence, and all attorneys must complete at least twelve hours of continuing legal education each year.^[19]
• Continuity. The Act lists, among the principles the commission must follow in setting standards, that the same defense counsel continuously represents the client and personally appears at every court appearance, although systems may exempt ministerial, nonsubstantive tasks and hearings.^[20] Standard 4 itself does not address whether the lawyer at the arraignment is the lawyer who keeps the case.^[13]

If you were not in custody and have not heard from your appointed lawyer, call the public defender or assigned counsel office named on your paperwork; the standard puts the first step of an out-of-custody case on an introductory communication that the client follows up.^[14]

What it can cost

Appointed counsel is provided at public expense, but that does not always mean at no cost to the defendant. Screening itself is free under the commission's standard.^[11] If the indigent defense system finds a defendant partially indigent, it determines the amount the defendant must contribute, and that determination is subject to judicial review.^[21] The standard does not require local funding units to seek contribution at all; where one does, it cannot require an indigent defendant to contribute, cannot require a contribution that would cause substantial financial hardship, and is to direct a partially indigent defendant to remit no more than 25% of what remains of monthly net income after current monthly expenses.^[5]

Separately, if a defendant pleads guilty or no contest, or is found guilty after a hearing or trial, the costs the court may impose include the expenses of providing legal assistance to the defendant.^[6] That provision is discretionary; how a court sets the amount was not researched for this guide. A sentencing court that orders costs as a condition of probation is limited to expenses specifically incurred in prosecuting the defendant, providing legal assistance to the defendant, and supervising the probationer, and may not require a probationer to pay costs unless the probationer is or will be able to pay them during the probation term.^[22][23] See Fines, costs and fees.

How retained counsel works

A retained lawyer is chosen and paid by the client, or by a family member on the client's behalf. The Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct set the outer limits of the fee arrangement:

• When the lawyer has not regularly represented the client, the basis or rate of the fee must be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after the representation begins.^[24]
• A lawyer may not charge a contingent fee, meaning one that depends on the outcome, for representing a defendant in a criminal case.^[25]
• A lawyer may not charge an illegal or clearly excessive fee. The factors for judging reasonableness include the time and labor required, the fee customarily charged in the locality for similar services, and the experience, reputation and ability of the lawyer.^[12]

What the fee covers is a matter for the agreement. The court rule describes a trial lawyer's responsibilities as including all trial court proceedings through initial sentencing; it does not say what a private fee includes.^[26] That rule is written for cases in circuit court.^[27] Whether a related personal protection order hearing, a probation violation or a later set-aside application is covered are fair questions to ask in advance. If the representation ends early, a lawyer must refund any advance payment of fee that has not been earned.^[28] A lawyer may accept payment from someone other than the client, such as a relative, only if the client consents after consultation, the payer does not interfere with the lawyer's independent judgment or the client-lawyer relationship, and the client's information stays protected.^[29] A neutral list is in Questions to ask before hiring a defense lawyer.

To find lawyers to interview, the State Bar of Michigan offers a free online directory searchable by practice area and location, and a lawyer referral service.^[30]

What is the same either way

• The decisions are yours. In a criminal case a lawyer must abide by the client's decision, after consultation, on the plea to be entered, whether to waive a jury trial, and whether the client will testify.^[8]
• You are entitled to be kept informed. A lawyer must keep a client reasonably informed, respond promptly to reasonable requests for information, and promptly notify the client of every proposed plea bargain.^[9]
• Confidentiality. A lawyer may not knowingly reveal a client's confidences or secrets except as the rules permit.^[31]
• Immigration advice. Defense counsel must tell a noncitizen client whether a plea carries a risk of deportation.^[32]
• The no-contact order. A release order is the court's order. Under the pretrial release rule it is the court that may modify a release decision, on a party's motion or on its own initiative; nothing in that rule lets a lawyer, appointed or retained, permit contact the order forbids.^[33]

What people get wrong

"I made bond, so I cannot get an appointed lawyer." The ability to post bond does not make a defendant ineligible.^[10]

"The judge picks the public defender." Under Standard 5 the court's role is limited to informing defendants of the right to counsel, determining indigency and entitlement to appointment, and referring an eligible defendant to the appropriate agency.^[7] No source reviewed for this guide says whether a defendant may choose which lawyer is appointed.

"Appointed counsel only shows up at trial." The standard calls for counsel at the arraignment, during plea negotiations and at other critical stages.^[13]

"It is a misdemeanor, so no lawyer will be appointed." The right to appointed counsel in a misdemeanor case turns on whether the court might impose incarceration, even a suspended term.^[16]

The rights behind both routes are explained in The right to a lawyer in a domestic violence case. Whether to have counsel at all is addressed in Do you need a lawyer?, what to take to the first meeting in What to bring to a first meeting, and what happens at the first hearing in How to prepare for your arraignment.