Marilena David was named the Director of the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) by the Appellate Defender Commission at its meeting on May 2.
She succeeded Jonathan Sacks, who retired from SADO in January.
She has been serving as Acting Director since that time.
As the Appellate Defender, David is responsible for funding, policy, and leadership of a statewide appellate defense system that includes felony criminal appeals, youth appellate defense, representation of individuals unconstitutionally sentenced to life without parole as children and teenagers, and a training and support program for public defense.
With Commission oversight, the Appellate Defender oversees more than 100 full-time employees and a roster of 125 private roster attorneys, who together represent approximately 3,000 people each year.
David received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2009. While in law school, she began interning at SADO and has practiced law at SADO since, serving in many positions including, most recently, Deputy Director.
Her accomplishments at SADO include launching Project Reentry in response to the unique and immediate needs of Michigan’s juvenile lifers as returning citizens, launching and managing SADO’s Crime Lab Unit to analyze the impact of potentially faulty Detroit Crime Lab evidence on criminal convictions following the lab’s closure, and co-launching SADO’s Racial Justice Initiative.
During her tenure at SADO, David has successfully argued cases in Michigan’s trial and appellate courts.
David’s current board memberships include the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, the Education Committee for the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), the Education and Well-Being Committee for the National Association of Public Defense, and the Michigan Judicial Council.
She has also served as the Chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Prisons and Corrections Section, as a member of the Council of the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section and the Michigan Community Corrections Board.
In 2024, David was recognized by the State Bar of Michigan as a Champion of Justice. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Community Impact Award, the 2014 SBM Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, and the 2014 CDAM Justice for All Award.
David regularly trains public defenders in Michigan and around the country on topics such as: persuasive writing, editing, research, issue spotting, client-centered representation, client interviewing, theory development, sustainability and well-being, boundaries, sentencing advocacy, reentry, litigating racial justice issues, technology, adult learning principles, and more.
David is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University where she teaches Judicial Process.
She succeeded Jonathan Sacks, who retired from SADO in January.
She has been serving as Acting Director since that time.
As the Appellate Defender, David is responsible for funding, policy, and leadership of a statewide appellate defense system that includes felony criminal appeals, youth appellate defense, representation of individuals unconstitutionally sentenced to life without parole as children and teenagers, and a training and support program for public defense.
With Commission oversight, the Appellate Defender oversees more than 100 full-time employees and a roster of 125 private roster attorneys, who together represent approximately 3,000 people each year.
David received her law degree from Wayne State University Law School in 2009. While in law school, she began interning at SADO and has practiced law at SADO since, serving in many positions including, most recently, Deputy Director.
Her accomplishments at SADO include launching Project Reentry in response to the unique and immediate needs of Michigan’s juvenile lifers as returning citizens, launching and managing SADO’s Crime Lab Unit to analyze the impact of potentially faulty Detroit Crime Lab evidence on criminal convictions following the lab’s closure, and co-launching SADO’s Racial Justice Initiative.
During her tenure at SADO, David has successfully argued cases in Michigan’s trial and appellate courts.
David’s current board memberships include the Michigan Appellate Bench Bar Conference Foundation, the Education Committee for the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan (CDAM), the Education and Well-Being Committee for the National Association of Public Defense, and the Michigan Judicial Council.
She has also served as the Chair of the State Bar of Michigan’s Prisons and Corrections Section, as a member of the Council of the State Bar’s Appellate Practice Section and the Michigan Community Corrections Board.
In 2024, David was recognized by the State Bar of Michigan as a Champion of Justice. She is also the recipient of the 2018 Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Community Impact Award, the 2014 SBM Outstanding Young Lawyer Award, and the 2014 CDAM Justice for All Award.
David regularly trains public defenders in Michigan and around the country on topics such as: persuasive writing, editing, research, issue spotting, client-centered representation, client interviewing, theory development, sustainability and well-being, boundaries, sentencing advocacy, reentry, litigating racial justice issues, technology, adult learning principles, and more.
David is an adjunct professor at Wayne State University where she teaches Judicial Process.
