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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

01:31:31

336 | How the San Mateo Private Defender Program is...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/03/11

Today, Hunter spoke with Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra of the San Mateo County Private Defender Program. Unlike the normal contract Public Defender model, the PDP operates as a managed assigned counsel system. As the Chief Defender, Lisa, manages a group of private contractors who handle the Public Defender needs of the county. This grants here significantly more oversight than in a traditional Private Defender System. Harpreet is the lead for the PDP’s Social Worker program, and she ensures

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01:11:31

335 | How Sec Def Austin Interfered with the 9/11 and...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/03/06

Today, Hunter spoke with two defense lawyers handling the USS Cole case out of Guantanamo Bay. Allison Miller and Katie Carmon are two of the defense counsel on the al-Nashiri, and last fall, they thought that after more than two decades of pre trial confinement, the cases would finally end when they entered into a plea negotiation with the government. Unfortunately, then Secretary of Defense Loyd Austin exercised undue and unlawful command influence by terminating the agreements. Now with a new

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01:10:35

334 | Was a Former Colorado Public Defender Fired for...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/03/04

Today, Hunter spoke with Travis Weiner the former Colorado Public Defender suing the State Public Defender for wrongful termination. As a Colorado Public Defender, Travis reached a point where he estimated he would need more than 4,000 hours to complete the cases assigned to him. At that point, Travis believed he had an ethical obligation to withdraw from a newly assigned case. Unfortunately, the Colorado State Public Defender did not support him. Instead, they fired him. Now he is suing the state

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56:19

333 | How The American Eugenics Movement Helped...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/27

Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Daniel Loehr to discuss his research on the Eugenics Origin of Habitual Offender Laws. While many people hear habitual offender laws and think of the three strikes laws from the tough on crime era of the 1990’s, Daniel reveals that the history of these laws traces back to a much earlier and darker time in our nation’s history. Daniel lays out how America’s Eugenics movement wanted habitual offender laws to act as a way to stop certain populations from procreating,

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01:17:01

332 | The Coalition Fighting to Save New York's...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/25

Today, Hunter spoke with Amanda Jack and Kalle Condliffe of the New York Legal Aid Society about the fight to save Kalief’s Law. This law, passed in 2020, aimed to create much needed reforms to evidence discovery in criminal trials. Naturally, prosecutors have hated new requirements for disclosure, and they have attempted to get the laws peeled back before they even went in place. Now with the help of Governor Hochul, prosecutors are once again trying to get these laws repealed so they can return

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01:09:48

331 | How the Far West Texas Public Defenders...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/20

Today, Hunter spoke with Paul Chambers and James McDermott of the Far West Texas Public Defenders Office. This time, they joined to discuss how Paul discovered and James litigated a pattern and practice of discovery violations by the El Paso District Attorney’s Office. Guest James McDermott, Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Paul Chambers, Deputy Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Resources: Far West Texas Public Defender in the

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01:00:52

330 | The Fight to Reform Oklahoma's Failure to...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/19

Today, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey and Cindy Nguyen to discuss Oklahoma’s Failure to Protect Laws. A few years back, Alexandra joined the show to discuss theses laws, and as a reminder, these laws allow for victims of domestic violence, mostly women, to be sentenced to longer jail sentences for failing to protect their children from abuse than the men who commit the abuse. Today, Cindy and Alexandra join the show to discuss the fight to reform these laws. Guest Alexandra Bailey,

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01:10:13

329 | Prosecutorial Reform and the Myth of...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/18

Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Justin Murray about his recent law review article, Prosecutorial Reform and the Myth of Individualized Enforcement. On several past episodes, Hunter has explored the field of Progressive Prosecution. As he has uncovered, much of the push back to these types of prosecutors is their decision not to prosecute certain types of crimes. Today, Justin is here to show how that critique does not comport with the history of prosecution, and he asks us to rethink how we

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01:33:47

328 | How the Laken Riley Act Could Get Innocent...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/13

Today, Hunter spoke with Ann Block and Nithya Nathan-Pineau from the Immigrant Resource Legal Center to discuss the newest immigration related legislation, executive orders, and policies coming from the Trump administration. Starting with the Laken Riley act, Hunter, Ann, and Nithya walk through the ways in which the criminal and immigration legal systems are fusing together to target immigrants around the country. Guest Ann Block, Senior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Resource Legal Center Nithya

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01:11:41

327 | Should we Have Universal Public Defense...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/11

Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour about two of her most recent law review articles. In her first, she argues for a new way of thinking about how we evaluate claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. In her second article, she makes the case for why public defense should be universally applied. Guest Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, Professor of Law, Scholar in Residence, Co-Director Center for Criminal Justice, Brooklyn Law School Resources: Universal Public Defense

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01:01:46

326 | How Cuyahoga County Jail Keeps Prisoners from...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/06

Today, Hunter spoke once again with Nikki Baszynski of the Wren Collective to talk about the Criminal Legal System in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This time, they discussed an update about youth representation in the county, and they also did a deep dive into how the county jail is denying prisoners in person visits and recording their conversations with family. Guest Nikki Baszynski, Principal, Wren Collective Resources: Wren Collective Report

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01:10:32

325 | Is Kansas Public Defense on the Verge of a...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/02/04

Today, Hunter spoke once again with Heather Cessna, the Executive Director of the Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services. This time, Hunter and Heather discuss how Kansas Public Defense could be close to collapsing due to a lack of lawyers and a legislature that has yet to properly address the issue. Guest Heather Cessna, Executive Director, Kansas Board of Indigents’ Defense Services Resources: Contact KBDIS https://www.ksbids.gov/ Contact Heather hcessna@sbids.org Rural

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01:14:40

324 | The Fight to End Youth Shackling and Limit Mass...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/30

Today, Hunter spoke once again with Rob Poggenklass and Bryan Kennady from Justice Forward Virginia. Last year, Justice Forward Virginia joined the show to discuss the 2024 criminal justice policies being floated in Virginia. Today, Rob and Bryan are here to discuss what the 2025 legislative session has in store for criminal justice reform in Virginia. Guest Rob Poggenklass, Executive Director, Justice Forward Virginia Bryan Kennedy, Public Defender, Fairfax County, Treasurer, Justice Forward

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01:05:00

323 | How One Inconsistent Eye Witness Led to the...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/28

Today, Hunter spoke with Kerrie Liang, a student at Princeton University, to discuss the wrongful conviction of Ivery Dorsey. Through her and classmates work at Princeton, Kerrie walks us through how the inconsistent eye witness testimony of one person ultimately led to the wrongful conviction of Ivery. Guest Kerrie Liang, Student, Princeton University Resources: More Resources about Ivery’s Case https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpV9qkt7JHM

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58:07

322 | The Impact of and the Resistance to Mass...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/23

Today, Hunter spoke with Hans Meyer and Holly Lucas to discuss a variety of topics at the intersection of the criminal legal and immigration systems. With the Trump administration poised to implement a policy of mass deportation, Hans and Holly offer insights into how they have worked in court rooms and the Colorado State Legislature to guide Colorado to more humane immigration policies. Guest Holly Lucas, Public Defender, Colorado State Public Defender Hans Meyer, Criminal Defense and

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36:44

321 | How Virginia Prison Officials Lied About Red...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/22

Today, Hunter spoke with Senior Reporter at The Appeal, Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg. A few weeks ago, Hunter was joined by Phil Wilayto of the Virginia Defender to talk about why prisoners of Virginia’s Red Onion Prison were lighting themselves on fire. Today, Elizabeth joins to reveal how despite the public proclamations by DOC officials, prisoners were lighting themselves on fire all along. Guest Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Senior Reporter, The Appeal Resources: Follow Elizabeth

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01:19:50

320 | Carceral Apartheid: How Lies and White...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/21

Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Brittany Freidman about her new book Carceral Apartheid. In this book, Professor Freidman tells the story of the California Prison System, the racist violence the system permits to exist, and how the prison system used all of us power to crush the political arm of the Black Guerilla Family. Through this conversation, Hunter and Professor Freidman hope to demonstrate what our system does and does not permit to continue. Guest Brittany Friedman, Professor of

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01:06:39

319 | How a Petty Theft Could get you 180 Days in...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/16

Today, Hunter sat down with Scott Troxell to wrap up our conversation on Colorado Municipal Courts. This time, the conversation focuses on how Rifle Municipal Courts were giving people 6 Months sentences for thefts that the state only gave 10 day sentences. Guest Scott Troxell, Attorney, Glenwood Springs, Colorado Resources: 2017 ACLU Report on Colorado Municipal Courts https://www.aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/JUSTICE-DERAILED-web.pdf Coverage of Municipal Courts in Rifle by Denver

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01:09:04

318 | How to Fight and Abolish the Death Penalty...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/15

Today, Hunter sat down with longtime death penalty abolitionist activist Abraham Bonowitz. On previous episodes about death penalty abolition, the show has primarily focused on the successes and failures of the fight in the court room. Today however, Abe joins the show to discuss the types of media campaigns and coalition building that is necessary to fight and ultimately abolish the death penalty outside of the four corners of the court house. Guest Abraham Bonowitz, Executive Director, Death

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54:21

317 | How Pueblo Municipal Court Used Contempt of...

Public Defenseless ·

2025/01/14

Today, Hunter sat down with Keri Williams to continue our coverage of Municipal Courts in Colorado. This time, they discussed how Pueblo Municipal Courts were giving people years in jail for contempt of court charges. Guest Keri Williams, Attorney, Pueblo, Colorado Resources: 2017 ACLU Report on Colorado Municipal Courts https://www.aclu-co.org/sites/default/files/JUSTICE-DERAILED-web.pdf Coverage of Municipal Courts in Pueblo by Denver Post

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206 results

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