Definable Maximal Independent Families

We study maximal independent families (m.i.f.) in the projective hierarchy. We show that (a) the existence of a $\boldsymbol{\Sigma}^1_2$ m.i.f. is equivalent to the existence of a $\boldsymbol{\Pi}^1_1$ m.i.f., (b) in the Cohen model, there are no projective maximal independent families, and (c) in the Sacks model, there is a $\boldsymbol{\Pi}^1_1$ m.i.f. We also consider a new cardinal invariant related to the question of destroying or preserving maximal independent families.