Jonathan Sacks

Of Counsel

(248) 679.8711 sacks@sppplaw.com Detroit, MI

About Jonathan

Jonathan Sacks is an experienced trial and appellate lawyer with a focus on criminal defense. From zealous litigation in jury trials to appellate advocacy in the Michigan and United States Supreme Courts, Jonathan has achieved superior results for his clients. His practice includes criminal defense, wrongful conviction litigation, criminal appeals and post-conviction litigation, prosecutor parole appeals, internal investigations, civil rights, and employment law.

Prior to joining Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter, Jonathan served as Director of Michigan’s State Appellate Defender Office (“SADO”). Under his leadership, SADO initiated projects involving early release of people serving jail sentences during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, comprehensive review of the failed Detroit Crime Lab, pre-screening of appellate clients for claims of actual innocence, and the provision of social worker sentencing assistance. With Jonathan’s advocacy, SADO doubled in size to include a permanent Juvenile Lifer Unit; litigation, mitigation, and finance support for the Michigan Appellate Assigned Counsel System; the establishment of youth appellate defense; and permanent state-funded Project Reentry and Wrongful Conviction Units.  Jonathan was previously the Deputy Director at SADO, and an experienced appellate defender.

Jonathan has been recognized for his leadership and advocacy, including the appointment to the Michigan Task Force on Forensic Science, and the receipt of the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan’s Justice for All award.

Before he took the helm at SADO, Jonathan served as the first Executive Director of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, where his work culminated in Michigan’s first minimum standards for indigent defense at trial, and first significant financial contribution to trial level public defense.

Jonathan has also litigated as an assistant defender, major trials attorney, and felony trial supervisor at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. Jonathan was born in South Africa and worked for the South African Council of Churches on voter education and election monitoring programs for the first democratic elections in 1994.

Jonathan received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Leadership and Awards

  • Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, Justice for All Award, 2012
  • Appointed by Governor Whitmer to the Michigan Task Force on Forensic Science
  • State Bar of Michigan, Criminal Jurisprudence and Practice Committee
  • Board, Safe and Just Michigan
  • National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Chair, Systems Building Committee, 2017-2019
  • State Bar of Michigan, Criminal Law Section Council, 2009-2015
  • Fellow, Michigan State Bar Foundation

Media and Publications

Teaching, Speaking, and Testimony

  • Speaker, Michigan District Judges Association, Michigan Criminal Law Case Update, 2021-2025
  • Wayne State University Law School and Detroit Mercy School of Law, guest speaker on indigent defense reform and access to justice, 2015-2025
  • Speaker, National Association of Public Defenders, 2018-2024: Dynamics of Labor Unions at Public Defender Offices, Public Defense Recruiting, Workload Strategies for Public Defender Managers, 2020-2024
  • Presentations on indigent defense reform to Michigan Judges Association, Michigan District Judges Association, Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of Counties, and Michigan court administrator groups, 2015-2018
  • Moderator, Appellate Bench-Bar Conference, 2010-2013
  • Speaker, The American Jury Trial System, Jordan University Law School, Amman, Jordan, 2010
  • Michigan Legislative Committee and Subcommittee Testimony:
    • Expansion of Appellate Defender Act to Include Youth Defense, 2023
    • State Appellate Defender Office Appropriations, 2018-2024
    • Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Appropriations, 2015-2017
    • Implications of Miller v Alabama on juvenile lifers with existing sentences, 2012

Bar Admissions

Jonathan is a member of the State Bar of Michigan. He is admitted to practice in the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western District of Michigan, the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.