Michigan needs $7M to pay wrongfully convicted, avoid going into debt
The state of Michigan is running short of cash in its Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act fund as about $9 million in claims from formerly incarcerated individuals is coming due.
The fund is expected to have a balance of about $1.2 million in the next 30 days — a $2.7 million dip from the $3.9 million balance at the end of 2020 — and the state has about $9 million in claims pending in the state Court of Claims.
“That means reviewing any of several of the outstanding claims would put the fund in the red,” said Lynsey Mukomel, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office.
The Department of Treasury has requested about $7 million in supplemental funding to tide the fund over and avoid having it go into debt until the state passes next year’s budget.
The state House has included the $7 million in its proposed $13 billion supplemental bill, but the Senate has yet to propose its own supplemental plan. And even after both chambers reach an agreement, it will likely take some time to negotiate the final funding bill with the governor.
Past supplemental negotiations have dragged on for weeks and key spending priorities were vetoed because of disagreements between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the GOP-led Legislature.
The Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act, enacted in 2016, requires the state to pay individuals who are wrongfully convicted $50,000 for each year they spent in prison. To claim the compensation, the individual must sue the state in the Court of Claims, where a judge determines whether they meet the qualifications for compensation.
Between August 2017 and January 2021, more than $22 million had been paid to the wrongfully convicted from the fund. But the effort has run into money flow issues before.
In 2019, Nessel raised concerns about funding for the program after the state wasn’t able to pay some claims because the program’s balance dropped from about $6.5 million since its 2016 creation to $323,800 in March 2019.
The dwindling balance prompted the Legislature to allocate $10 million into the fund and require Nessel to report the balance on a quarterly basis so it could be replenished if needed.
There is also pressure to expand the qualification for tapping the compensation fund.
In three years, seven individuals have challenged provisions of the law and sought relief in the Michigan Supreme Court, but none have so far been successful. The appeals have ranged from challenges to a part of the law that gives cash to people whose cases were overturned because of new evidence to arguments over whether someone should receive compensation for time spent in jail before trial.
Continue reading...
See the original article here: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/04/25/michigan-needs-7-million-more-pay-wrongfully-convicted-claims/7356178002/
About TriMark Legal Funding
Since 2003, TriMark Legal Funding has been a top-tier source of legal funding throughout the United States. We offer pre-settlement and post-settlement loans on hundreds of different types of claims to injured plaintiffs — from personal injury cases to employment litigation funding, work accidents, workers compensation loans, mass tort funding, and multidistrict litigation financing. In addition, we provide inheritance advance services for heirs and beneficiaries as well as post settlement funding for attorneys. Our goal is to ensure our clients are able to access the resources they need during this difficult time.
| Personal Injury Lawsuits | Other Cases We Consider |
Click here to see the original article.