Here are the circumstances under which the State of Michigan will appoint an pauper counsel/public defender:
selfhelp: Getting Legal Help
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent defendant in a criminal case if the offense charged requires on conviction a minimum term in jail or the court determines that it might sentence the defendant to jail.
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent respondent in a civil contempt proceeding for child support enforcement matters if the court is considering jail as a penalty for nonpayment.
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent respondent in a criminal contempt proceeding concerning a personal protection order.
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent juvenile in a delinquency proceeding, or if the juvenile isn't indigent, the court may appoint an attorney for a juvenile in certain other situations.
The court will appoint an attorney in all cases involving a mentally ill person or a developmentally disabled person.
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent respondent in a child protective proceeding.
The court will appoint a lawyer-guardian ad litem for all children subject to a protective services petition.
The court may appoint an attorney for an indigent noncustodial parent in contesting termination of parental rights in a step-parent adoption.
The court may appoint an attorney for a minor who has filed a petition for emancipation and may appoint an attorney for that minor's parents or guardian if they are indigent and oppose the petition.
The court will appoint an attorney for an indigent person who is the subject of a petition for testing or commitment for infectious disease.
The court may appoint an attorney for a child in a child custody dispute.
The court may appoint an attorney for a minor in a guardianship, conservatorship, or protective case.
The court will appoint an attorney for a legally incapacitated person who does not already have an attorney in a proceeding to modify a guardianship.