 The Criminal Defense Resource Center (CDRC) of the State Appellate Defender Office was formed in 1977 in response to a growing demand from the private bar for help with criminal cases. Recognizing the collective legal expertise of SADO attorneys who practice only criminal law, attorneys throughout Michigan quickly came to depend on the CDRC for support. When federal grant funding elapsed after a few years, CDRC funding was assumed by SADO. It is currently funded through a combination of the SADO budget, user fees, and grants from the Michigan Justice Training Commission and Michigan Bar Foundation. Both the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and the Michigan Bar Foundation have provided generous financial support for development of Criminal Defense Online, the CDRC's World Wide Web service. In addition to the products and services described elsewhere, the CDRC provides telephone advice to approximately 3,000 callers per year. While not equipped to handle calls from the general public, the CDRC helps attorneys who call with everything from a question about a recent court decision to a request for help with development of a trial strategy. The targeted audience for this support service is assigned attorneys, many of whom practice criminal law only occasionally, in remote locations, and for low assignment fees. The CDRC's Director is Dawn Van Hoek, who may be contacted by surface mail at 645 Griswold, 3300 Penobscot, Detroit, MI 48226, or by e-mail. The Administrator of this Web site is John Powell, who may be contacted by e-mail. About the State Appellate Defender OfficeMichigan's State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) was formed in 1969 for the purpose of representing convicted indigent felons on appeal, throughout the State of Michigan. Its statutory creation came in 1978, with adoption of the "Appellate Defender Act," MCL 780.705 et seq; MSA 28.1287 (105) et seq. Governed by a Commission appointed by Michigan's Governor, SADO is charged both with providing direct legal representation to approximately 25% of those persons pursuing an appeal, and with providing support services to criminal defense attorneys. SADO's principal office is in Detroit, with a satellite office in Lansing, Michigan. Approximately thirty attorneys provide services which include record evaluation and client visitation, brief preparation and oral argument in the Michigan Court of Appeals and Michigan Supreme Court, evidentiary hearings in Michigan's circuit courts, and the filing of federal habeas corpus petitions. SADO also sponsors clinical courses on appellate practice at the University of Michigan Law School and Wayne State University Law School. Standards for the appointment of appellate counsel and counsel's performance are found in a Michigan Supreme Court order creating the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System. 412 Mich lxv (Administrative Order 1987-7, 1981). In general, the SADO Commission meets on the third Wednesday of January, April, July and October. The meetings may be adjusted to assure maximum attendance. The dates for the 2008 meetings are:
August 20, 2008 at 12 noon at MAACS. November 19, 2008 at 12 noon at SADO.
The address for MAACS is:
SADO's Director is James Neuhard, who may be contact by snail mail at 645 Griswold, 3300 Penobscot, Detroit, MI 48226, or by e-mail. 
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