Public Defenseless

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 Defe...

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 segme...

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...

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.s...

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  ...

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...

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://oksurvivorjusticecoaliti...

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...

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...

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 leg...

  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, a...

  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 t...

  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...

  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...

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 equip...

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...

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...

Today, Hunter kicks off a week about Public Defense in Minnesota by speaking with the Chief Public Defender of the State, Bill Ward. Throughout this episode, Bill and Hunter discuss workloads, workload refusal, the recent budgetary victories he's helped secure, and what is needed to ensure Public Defenders in Minnesota are not drowning in cases.   Guests: Bill Ward, Chief Public Defender, Minnesot...

Today, Hunter is joined by long time Capital Defender, Sharon Turlington. Today, the two discuss cases that bookended Sharon's career in Missouri. Both cases involved an in the weeds evidentiary rule that prohibits testimony that points to the guilt of a person who is not on trial. In one of her earliest cases, this rule kept the jury from hearing that a third party ADMITTED TO COMMITING THE CRIME...

Today, Hunter is joined by Jason Gain, a West Virginia Post Conviction defense attorney. On this episode, the two continue the miniseries covering the dangers of convictions secured through uncorroborated evidence. This time, we discuss the recent victory that Jason secured for his client, Lamont Dees. After more than five years of incarceration, Mr. Dees was freed because his conviction was secur...

Today, Hunter is joined by Eric Tindal, a criminal defense attorney in Iowa. Today's discussion focuses on the question, how much evidence does it take to convict someone. Specifically, Hunter and Eric discussed how a single uncorroborated testimony can be sufficient to secure a conviction. This episode kicks off a miniseries comparing what evidence is perfectly fine for prosecutors to rely on and...

Today, Hunter is joined by Lenora Easter, a candidate for the Public Defender position in Orange and Osceola Counties. As a former Bronx Defender and member of Partners for Justice, Lenora understands the importance of a holistic defense practice. In her adopted home of Orange and Osceola Counties, Lenora sees an absence of that holistic practice and a loud voice in the community as a short coming...

Today, Hunter is joined by two amazing guests from the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Vic Walczak and Veronica Miller join the show to discuss the newest ACLU lawsuit being brought against Pennsylvania for its failure to adequately fund public defense. As we heard last week on the show, things in Pennsylvania Public Defense are failing because of Pennsylvania utterly failing to meet its obligations as a st...

Today, Hunter is joined by journalist Andrew Pantazi to tell the story of Florida's worst Chief Public Defender, Matt Shirk. For more than a decade, Andrew and his colleagues have been covering the story of Shirk who served two terms as Jacksonville's elected public defender. During his time as the chief, Shirk oversaw a systemic practice of sexual harassment, drove out some his best attorneys and...

Today, Hunter is joined by three Public Defenders from the state of Pennsylvania to get a feel for how Public Defense is fairing outside of the Philadelphia. Autumn Johnson, Sara Jacobson, and Samuel Encarnacion join the show to discuss what's happening in Mercer County, Lancaster County, and around the state. Recently, Pennsylvania dedicated its first ever state level funding for Public Defense,...