I’ve spent my entire career in courtrooms, and I’ve seen what happens when the system works and when it doesn’t. Justice isn’t about shortcuts. It’s about doing it right.

Right now, Michigan has a problem. Indigent children in our juvenile justice system are walking into courtrooms with little protection. Kids — some as young as 12 — are facing judges, prosecutors and the full weight of the law with no legal counsel or with attorneys unprepared to navigate the complexities of the juvenile justice system.

Does that sound fair to you? It doesn’t to me.

The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to an attorney. That’s not a suggestion. That’s the law. And yet, here we are, allowing indigent minors to often stand with well-meaning attorneys, who may or may not have th

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