The 2000 Defender Motions Book is a first edition, and part of a set including the Defender Trial and Defender Plea, Sentencing and Post-Conviction Books. The Motions Book focuses on motions commonly filed at trial by criminal defense attorneys practicing in Michigan courts. As a first edition, the Motions Book is intended to grow in contents and format. Feedback from users is encouraged.

Format. Each chapter of the Motions Book contains its own table of contents, allowing quick identification of issues and location of useful material. Sample motions follow narrative text, and are linked numerically; for example, motion 2.4 relates to text 2-4, covering the same subject. Simpler motions contain highlighted fields which identify data which can be plugged in from a particular case. More complicated motions (search and seizure, for example) are more fact-driven, and data fields are not supplied. Instead, a sample appears for guidance on form.

Citations. Text and motions contain citations to court rules, statutes, and appellate decisions, updated through early 2000. In all cases, attorneys are urged to update the authorities up to the date of filing. Summaries and full text of new developments are available on the SADO Web site, www.sado.org.

Additional resources for trial attorneys. Attorneys also should consult the online resources located on the State Appellate Defender Office's web site, www.sado.org. These include a database of expert witnesses, locations of jails and prison inmates, a calendar of training events, bulletins, newsletters, and full text of the Defender Trial and Sentencing Books.

Interactive version. The Defender Motions Book also is published in an interactive version, for use in word processing. This version, supplied on diskettes, CD-ROM or Web-downloadable form, is meant to provide templates which are customized for a particular case. Users may tab from field to field, delete text, or add text as needed.

Questions or comments. Users of the Defender Motions Book may address questions or comments to:

Dawn Van Hoek
Director, Criminal Defense Resource Center
3300 Penobscot Building
645 Griswold
Detroit, MI 48226
dvanhoek@sado.org

The first edition of the Defender Motions Book was made possible through the efforts of many devoted and talented people. Special thanks to the project team of:

Professors Andrea D. Lyon and Bridget M. McCormack, University of Michigan Law School, the principal authors, for their research and writing;

Chari K. Grove, Assistant Defender, State Appellate Defender Office, for research and writing;

Attorneys B.J. Belcoure, David Beneman, Theodore E. Bratton, Lynn B. D. Orio, Jose R. Fanego, Robyn Frankel, Stuart Friedman, Elizabeth Jacobs, Mark D. Osterman, John B. Payne, Jr., Paul Rinaldi, Nick Rine, Steven E. Scharg, and the faculty of the Michigan Clinical Law Program, for their contributions of ideas and motions;

Danielle Phillip, University of Michigan law student, for her invaluable assistance;

John Powell, for database and web development, publishing and research assistance;

Bill Moy, principal production manager, for research, cite-checking and layout;

Maria Sanchez, for word processing, database maintenance, layout and distribution assistance;

Navania Nelson, for word processing and layout assistance;

Joanne Moritz, for fielding phone inquiries about the book; and

Dawn Van Hoek, for editing the book and administering the project.

Several organizations also were indispensable to this publication. Thanks to:

The Michigan Justice Training Commission, for funding principal costs of the project; and

The State Appellate Defender Office, for funding staff, equipment, and overhead on the project.