Safe & Just Michigan

10/14/2026

Join us and our partners - Michigan Advocacy Program, Lakeshore Legal Aid, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw County Office of Public Defender, Washtenaw Sheriff, , and Michigan Department of Attorney General - on Saturday for an expungement fair. Pre-registration link on our Events page below.

https://safeandjustmi.org/events/

10/14/2026

Yesterday our Operations Manager Veronica French attended the Tri-Star Trust 2026 Fall Leadership and Development workshop in Saginaw. A great opportunity to learn and network!

10/13/2026

When someone has a court date, in addition to any fines and restitution they might face, they can also get hit with court fees. Right now, Michigan courts are inconsistent about when they waive these fees based on somebody’s ability to pay.

Senate Bills 1089–1091 would establish uniform standards for when to waive court fees based on ability to pay. They are commonsense bipartisan bills to make our courts more fair.

Michigan courts have a conflict of interest problem. Because courts depend on the fines and fees they collect, judges are pushed to prioritize revenue over accountability, rehabilitation and justice. The Michigan Supreme Court recognized this in 2014, yet the system is still in place today because the legislature has kicked the can down the road for more than a decade. People who can't pay get trapped in cycles of debt and recidivism, and the state wastes resources chasing payments it will never collect.

Call your State Senator and ask them to put Senate Bills 1089–1091 up for a vote and only pass HB 5452 if SB 1089-91 also pass.

Find your senator: https://senate.michigan.gov/senators/find-your-senator/

Sample script: My name is ______, and I’m calling to ask Senator ###x to support SB 1089-1091. Any extension of the trial court fee sunset (HB 5452) should go hand-in-hand with establishing clear standards on when to waive court fees based on ability to pay. When Michiganders are struggling and cannot afford court fees, we shouldn’t force them into debt or further struggles. Michigan has put this issue off for too long, let’s solve this part of it now.

Background: When someone has a court date, in addition to any fines and restitution they might face, they can also get hit with court fees. Right now, Michigan courts are inconsistent about when they waive these fees based on somebody’s ability to pay.

Senate Bills 1089–1091 would establish uniform standards for when to waive court fees based on ability to pay. They are commonsense bipartisan bills to make our courts more fair.

Michigan courts have a conflict of interest problem. Because courts depend on the fines and fees they collect, judges are pushed to prioritize revenue over accountability, rehabilitation and justice. The Michigan Supreme Court recognized this in 2014, yet the system is still in place today because the legislature has kicked the can down the road for more than a decade. People who can't pay get trapped in cycles of debt and recidivism, and the state wastes resources chasing payments it will never collect.

The time to pass them is NOW as the legislature also considers a “sunset extension” to continue to permit these court fees.

10/13/2026

Last week we celebrated second chances with so many great partners in Lansing and Detroit. With the two events combined we screened 384 Michiganders and found 155 people eligible or partially eligible for expungement under Michigan's Clean Slate laws.

10/12/2026

Lansing residents have an opportunity today, Monday, October 12, to help move a proposed Fair Chance Access to Housing ordinance forward. Contact council members and attend tonight’s 7 PM City Council meeting to offer public comment in support.

The proposal was brought forward by Councilmember Tamera Carter and Council Vice President Trini Pehlivanoglu. It would give housing applicants an opportunity to correct inaccurate criminal history information and present evidence of rehabilitation or other circumstances before a housing provider makes a final decision based on that history.

We support the ordinance and our Director of Policy Tony Gant states:

“Communities across Michigan, from large metropolitan places like Detroit to smaller cities like Jackson, have already realized that removing barriers to housing helps families, fosters stability and strengthens communities. Cities only thrive when their residents do. Fair Chance Housing helps Lansing become a city more people can call home.”

Learn more ⬇⬇

https://votingaccessforall.org/2026/10/help-advance-fair-chance-housing-in-lansing-take-action-before-tonights-council-meeting/

10/12/2026

Have you registered? If not, please consider joining us for our 2026 Virtual Membership Meeting next month! We will discuss our work and what's ahead for 2027. Our board elections will be hosted too!

Looking forward to seeing you there! Register below ⬇️⬇️

Save the Date!
Annual Membership Meeting

Our Annual Membership Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Please join us for organizational updates, board member elections, officer selections and a proposed bylaw change. The bylaw change would ensure the term of a board officer (such as president or secretary) won't outlast someone's term as a board member.

10/09/2026

Commentary in Michigan Advance this morning states:

“Remember — most people in Michigan’s prisons will eventually leave them.

The question is what kind of people Michigan is sending back into its communities.

A prison system that cannot reliably provide basic programming, treatment, education and security is not only failing inmates.

It is failing you and me.”

As Michigan Advance’s Katherine Dailey reported Tuesday, the next governor will inherit a department facing severe staffing shortages, violence, concerns about conditions inside its facilities and bipartisan calls for new leadership.

10/08/2026

Spread the word if you know someone seeking support in completing an expungement petition ⬇️⬇️

10/07/2026

We are grateful that our partners at Present Pillars are taking a moment to recognize one of our super stars. Our Clean Slate Program Manager Kamau Sandiford works tirelessly all year to create second chance opportunities for Michiganders across the state.

We are proud to recognize Kamau Sandiford as the 2026 Pillar Awards: Fight Night recipient of the Community Impact Award!

Kamau Sandiford serves as the Clean Slate Program Manager at Safe & Just Michigan, an organization dedicated to advancing criminal justice reforms aimed at ending mass incarceration and fostering safer communities. In this role, he oversees expungement outreach initiatives throughout Michigan, helping people remove old criminal records that hinder access to better housing and employment opportunities. Before taking that role in 2021, he was an expungement attorney at the Cooley Law School’s Access to Justice Clinic in Grand Rapids.

His commitment to public interest law is evident through his extensive work in expungement, where he has helped numerous individuals overcome the barriers posed by past convictions. Over time, Michigan's expungement laws have evolved, and Sandiford has continued to build his expertise right alongside the changes. He uses this experience and knowledge to influence criminal justice reform in Michigan.

He has participated in various public forums and webinars to discuss the impact of expungement laws and advocate for criminal justice reform. To promote education and awareness, he has hosted several training sessions for attorneys throughout the state on the expungement process. Sandiford also helped establish partnerships with local community organizations to facilitate expungement outreach efforts in the Grand Rapids area.

Sandiford has also been instrumental in increasing public awareness of the new Clean Slate laws and assisting individuals in navigating the often-complex expungement petition process. In Benton Harbor alone he is responsible for the coordination of the nearly 1,000 expungement screenings achieved in collaboration with Present Pillars.

Join us at Four Winds Casinos in South Bend as we celebrate Kamau and his dedicated work for communities, impacting the lives of many.

Purchase your tickets now! Together, we’ll celebrate stories of hope, recognize extraordinary leadership, and invest in a future where every child has the opportunity to thrive.

🎟️ Get your tickets here: https://presentpillars.networkforgood.com/events/103833-the-2026-pillar-awards-fight-night

10/07/2026

"Second, Michigan’s pay-to-stay law, the State Correctional Facility Reimbursement Act, allows the attorney general to pursue 90% of the incarcerated defendant’s assets and estate. And finally, Michigan sues incarcerated people for hefty sums that can exceed $1 million, with the highest single pay-to-stay lawsuit in our sample seeking $5,437,150."

Brittany Friedman argues Michigan's next attorney general can end prison pay-to-stay, which sues incarcerated people for their cells.