x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Public Defenseless

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system. Like so many of

government politics

All Episodes

01:05:39

278 | The Systemic Corruption and Coverups at the...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/19

Today, Hunter is joined by former whistleblower Brittany Iriart and Civil Rights Attorney Andy McNulty to discuss a scandalous coverup with the Denver Sheriffs Department. When she moved to a civilian oversight position with the Denver Sheriff, Brittany hoped to bring some much needed accountability to a department with a history of burying misconduct. Unfortunately, the incremental changes around the edges did little to reign in a department that viewed itself above the law. Guests:

en

01:19:59

277 | Venezuelan Gangs Haven't Taken Over Aurora, But...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/18

Today, Hunter is joined by Colorado Newsline Journalist Chase Woodruff. Over the past several weeks, Aurora, Colorado has been thrust into the national spotlight thanks to right wing media and politicians. Despite their many sensationalist claims, Aurora and the state at large have not in fact been taken over by Venezuelan gangs. Today’s episode is meant to help compile reporting and walk through some of the “evidence” that have been paraded out so that you can have a more informed understanding of

en

01:13:27

276 | The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/17

Today, Hunter is joined by Jessica Pishko to discuss her new book The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy. So far on the show, Hunter has spent a lot of time discussing the corruption and abuses of police and prosecutors, but the show has not spent much time discussing the issues of sheriffs. Thanks to years of incredible investigative journalism, Jessica provides an in depth and distributing account for how sheriffs around the country are posing a

en

59:08

275 | How NACDL is Helping Public and Private...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/12

Today, Hunter is joined by Lisa Wayne, the Executive Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In this episode, Lisa and Hunter discuss how NACDL is trying to help give Public and Private Defenders the tools, skills, and policies they need to fight for their clients in and out of the court room. Guests: Lisa Wayne, Executive Director, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Resources: Trial Penalty https://www.nacdl.org/Landing/TheTrialPenalty NACDL

en

01:39:59

274 | Between 46%-99% of Colorado Public Defenders...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/10

Today, Hunter is by two Colorado State Public Defenders, James Hardy and Kayleigh TenBarge. When this episode was first recorded, James, Kayleigh, and Hunter were primarily focused on a piece of legislation that the Defenders Union of Colorado attempted and failed to get through the state house. That bill sought to get workload standards in place in Colorado by mid-2025. After recording that segment, an audit of the Colorado State Public Defender dropped, and revealed that at least 46% and maybe as

en

01:09:04

273 | How the Junk Science "Excited Delirium" Shields...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/05

Today, Hunter is joined by Professor Rachel Kincaid to talk about her recent law review article about the junk science excited delirium. Through her research, we can trace how this science steeped in racism has been able to infect the legal system and provide police a shield for their unlawful uses of force. Guests: Rachel Kincaid, Professor of Law, Baylor University Resources: Read Rachel’s Article https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4831202 Professor Kincaid’s Faculty

en

01:01:20

272 | The Challenges of Providing Holistic Defense in...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/04

Today, Hunter is joined by our first North Carolina Public Defender, Beth Stang. Today, we will be discussing all that is going right, going wrong, and what the future holds for Public Defense in Beth’s office that covers Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk counties. Guests: Beth Stang, Chief Public Defender, Henderson, Transylvania, and Polk County, North Carolina Resources: Email Beth beth.w.stang@nccourts.org Contact Hunter Parnell:

en

01:05:11

271 | How a Person Can Get Evicted for being the...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/09/03

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Alex Kornya to discuss the intersection between the criminal and civil legal systems. Last time, Alex detailed how fines and fees abuse people in the criminal and civil legal systems, and today, Alex joins us to discuss crime nuisance ordinances and “Crime Free” Housing programs. Guests: Alex Kornya, Litigation Director and General Counsel, Iowa Legal Aid Resources: 2020 story from the Atlantic about this issue and some history:

en

01:16:17

270 | What Was Happening in Grants Pass, Oregon...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/29

Today, Hunter is joined by journalist Jeremiah Hayden. Over the past several months, Jeremiah has been covering the reality for homeless people in Grants Pass, Oregon. If you are familiar with that town, it is likely because it was the town at the center of the recent Supreme Court case saying it was okay to criminalize homeless people. Instead of diving into the decision, Jeremiah is here to help people understand what it was like for a homeless person living in the town and what will happen now

en

01:07:43

269 | How Oklahoma is Giving a Second Chance to...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/28

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Alexandra Bailey, senior campaign strategist with the Sentencing Project, to discuss how her and a coalition of amazing activists were able to get a Domestic Violence Survivor Justice Act passed in Oklahoma. Guests: Alexandra Bailey, Senior Campaign Strategist, The Sentencing Project Resources: OK Survivor Justice Coalition https://oksurvivorjusticecoalition.org/legislation Sentencing Project https://www.sentencingproject.org/ Email Alexandra

en

01:06:01

268 | How the Los Angeles Public Defender Is Bringing...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/27

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Ricardo Garcia and joining the show for the first time Marcus Huntley. On today’s show, Ricardo and Marcus detail how they were able to get a mobile court established in Los Angeles that brings court to a location that is easier for their clients to access. Guests: Ricardo Garcia, Chief Public Defender, Los Angeles Public Defender Marcus Huntley, Head Deputy of Collaborative & Restorative Justice, Los Angeles Public Defender Resources: Email Marcus

en

01:02:12

267 | How The Destruction of DNA Evidence Might Keep...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/22

Today, Hunter is joined by Erica Nichols Cook, an Iowa State Public Defender and Director of the Iowa State Public Defense Wrongful Conviction Unit. On today’s episode, we are discussing the case of Mr. Bill Beeman, a client of Erica’s. In this case you will hear about a shoddy investigation, Brady violations, ineffective assistance of counsel, and the destruction of evidence that would exonerate Mr. Beeman. Guests: Erica Nichols Cook, Director Wrongful Conviction Unit, Iowa Public Defender

en

01:06:17

266 | With a Conservative Supreme Court, Do State...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/20

Today, Hunter is joined by Kathrina “Kasia” Szymborski Wolfkot from the Brennan Center for Justice. On today’s episode, Hunter and Kasia explore a rare area for hope on the show: State Courts. While much of the focus of teaching and discussion about our legal system starts and ends with the Supreme Court, state courts offer a path to meaningful, major changes to our criminal and constitutional legal systems. Guests: Kathrina (Kasia) Szymborski Wolfkot, Senior Counsel, Brenan Center for

en

01:09:23

265 | The Problems with Public Defense in Guam...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/15

Today, Hunter is joined by the Sixth Amendment Center’s Deputy Director Aditi Goel. This time, Hunter and Aditi the Sixth Amendment Center’s newest report on the state of Public Defense on the island of Guam. Relative to Public Defense systems in the continental United States, Guam’s Public Defender system is in its infancy, but the problems are familiar. Lack of independence, lack of lawyers, and an Attorney General who thinks better Public Defense=more crime all create a system that is in

en

01:09:21

264 | How Police Academies Foster a Culture of Police...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/13

Today, Hunter is joined by professor Samantha Simon, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Arizona. This episode is a deep dive into Professor Simon’s book, Before the Badge: How the Academy Training Shapes Police Violence. In it, Professor Simon embed herself into various police academy training programs to try and understand how police academies select, train, and prepare the next generation of police officers. Through her work, we gain an excellent insight into the

en

01:01:29

263 | What Changes are Coming to Fix Maine's Public...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/08

Today, Hunter is joined by Jim Billings, the Executive Director of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services. At the very start of the show, Hunter spoke with then Executive Director of the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, Justin Andrus, to discuss the problems facing Maine Public Defense. As a reminder, Maine was the only state that relied 100% on contract lawyers and no full time public defense offices. Since then, the crisis has only worsened. There are hundreds of people

en

59:08

262 | How the Good Faith Exception is Eroding Our...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/06

Today, Hunter is joined by University of Utah law Professor, Matthew Tokson, to discuss his most recent law review article The Reality of the Good Faith Exception. For those unfamiliar with it, the good faith exception is a way that the courts have side stepped unconstitutional actions by police and prosecutors. Specifically, if a cop executes a search, but it later turns out that it was based on an illegal warrant, that will not matter so long as the officer acted in good faith. How can we so

en

01:19:26

261 | The Problems with Public Defense in Florida and...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/08/01

Today, Hunter spoke once again with Radley Balko, a long-time investigative journalist, to discus his most recent reporting on public defense in Florida and Georgia. As has been discussed on the show previously, both states are struggling to meet the promises of Gideon. For Florida, the state has continued to move in a “tough on crime” direction and seems fine with leaving public defense ill equipped to handle the cases. In Georgia, the lack of independence leaves the system unable to properly

en

55:14

260 | How the Lack of Independence Weakens Federal...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/07/30

Today, Hunter spoke with the Chief Federal Public Defender for the District of Kansas to discuss independence, or the lack thereof, for federal public defenders. Unlike many state systems, the federal system is at the mercy of the federal judiciary. As a result of this judicial oversight, the federal public defenders can be hesitant to be as vocal and aggressive in their public advocacy. Over the past year, the hiring freeze for federal public defense demonstrated the pressing need to remove the

en

01:12:12

259 | How the Threat of a Strike got Minnesota's...

Public Defenseless ·

2024/07/25

Today, Hunter spoke once again w/Bob Kolstad and for the first time Veronica Surges. Both are public defenders in the state of Minnesota, and they joined the show to discuss how the organized a strike authorization and how that threat of a strike helped them secure the largest pay raises in the history of Minnesota Public Defense. Guests: Bob Kolstad, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota Veronica Surges, Public Defender, 6th District, Minnesota Resources: Contact Bob

en

206 results

Similar Podcasts

The Fly

Georgetown"s Institute of Politics and...

THE CONSTITUTION STUDY

Paul Engel

The DSR Daily

The DSR Network

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

Fora do Baralho

Rádio Observador