Public Defenseless

Imagine for a moment, you have been accused of several crimes. At trial, you are found not guilty on all the charges except for one. Let's say that this is least serious of all your charges. While you wish you had been acquitted on all charges, 5/6 is pretty good. You anticipate a minor sentence, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel….but then you get to sentencing, and the judge starts sa...

Today, Hunter concludes the three-part series on criminalized domestic violence survivors by speaking with two women who survived, endured years of incarceration, and utilized the DVSJA to get a second chance at life. Trinity Copeland was sentenced to 25 years to life for 2nd degree murder and resentenced to time served and released in March 2023 under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (...

Today, Hunter continues the three-part series on criminalized domestic violence survivors by speaking with Elizabeth Isaacs, an appellate attorney with New York's Office of Indigent Legal Services. Specifically, the two discuss the Domestic Violence Survivor's Justice Act, a New York law designed to give post-relief to those whose incarceration is related to their victimization. While certainly no...

Today, Hunter starts on part one of a three-part series on criminalized survivors of domestic violence. Kicking off this miniseries is Professor Leigh Goodmark. A former Public Defender herself, Leigh brings multiple decades of experience working with and writing about criminalized domestic violence survivors. On today's episode, Hunter and Leigh primarily discuss her journey to abolition, decrimi...

Today, Hunter is joined by Sophia Gurulé (immigration Public Defender at the Bronx Defender) and Pooja Patel (staff attorney at CAMBA Legal Services) to continue our discussion on ALAA's resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. In particular, today's episode offers us even more insight into how the resolution came about, the steps taken by those who opposed it to shut it down, and why ALAA memb...

Today, Hunter is joined by Michael Letwin, former President of ALAA 2325 and longtime Public Defender at the New York Legal Aid Society. Today's episode is part one of the two-part coverage of the ALAA 2325 Ceasefire in Gaza resolution. To understand the resolution fully requires us to fully understand the patterns, practices, and history of ALAA 2325 when it comes to speaking about international...

Today is a re-release of my conversation with Jenny Andrews. It comes as a right before two episodes covering the ceasefire resolution put out by the UAW ALAA 2325 union that represents Public Defenders and Legal Aid Workers at the New York Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders, Camba Legal Services, and much more.   Jenny Andrews is the Director of Training for California's Indigent Defense Impr...

Today, Hunter is joined by the newest Chief Public Defender of the State of New Jersey, Jennifer Sellitti. Drawing on her background in public relations, Jennifer has exciting plans for the future of Public Defense in the state. As the new leader, Jennifer hopes she will be able to capitalize on a legislature and governor that appear eager to continue reimagining what a criminal legal system can a...

Today, Hunter is once again joined by an amazing former Public Defender from the Wren Collective to discuss their report about youth representation in Cuyahoga County Ohio. Nikki Baszynski joins Hunter today to talk about, perhaps for the first time on the shoe, a Public Defender office that feels they don't have enough cases! Unlike most of the major metropolitan areas in Ohio, juvenile public de...

Today, Hunter sat down once again with the former Chief Public Defender of Colorado, Doug Wilson. This time, Doug and Hunter discuss the Aurora Theater Shooting case. Just like the episode about the Parkland shooting, today's episode is designed to help people understand how such a heinous crime could end in a life over death sentence. In examining these cases, hopefully people can understand the...

While working as with the DC Public Defender Services, today's guest realized there was a critical lack of attorneys assisting youth after they had been sentenced. Today, Hunter spoke with Penelope Spain, CEO and Co-Founder of Open City Advocates, to discuss how her organization hopes to keep kids from falling through the cracks simply because they do not have an attorney post-conviction.     Gues...

In just this past year, there have been over 400 anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in state houses around the country. Many have no hope of passing, but some will end up creating new was to criminalize and ostracize already vulnerable members of the LGBTQ+ community. Joining Hunter today to talk about these laws and their impacts is Richard Saenz from Lambda Legal. Throughout this conversation, Richard a...

"If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at no cost." Ask the average American, and they will tell you that Public Defenders are free…. Unless of course you live in most states where they charge you something for getting a Public Defender. If you live in Iowa, this means you could pay up to the entire cost of your representation even if you are found not guilty or the charges...

After being rated as one of the worst places in the country for their youth legal system, Maryland law makers decided to implement an overhaul of said system. After two years of study and advocacy, the state was guilted into action. Now, after less than 18 months in effect, police and prosecutors have convinced law makers into chipping away at the reforms. Today, Hunter is joined once again by the...

If you've listened to the show long enough, then you know Hunter has consistently advocated for more public defenders to become judges. With their insight into the legal system, communities can stand to gain so much by having a bench with more diverse job experience. Today, Hunter is joined by three L.A. public defenders who are all running for Superior Court Judgeships in Los Angeles County. Eric...

Why is it that even the most well intentioned, well thought out reforms for policing fail? At the heart of policing is a culture that teaches police to see threats around every corner. Today, Hunter sat down with sociology professor, Michael Sierra-Arévalo, to discuss his newest book The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing to try and understand all that contributes to that...

Today, Hunter is once again joined by Arlington, VA Chief Public Defender Brad Haywood. This time, Brad joins the show to dig into the ways copaganda has negatively impacted criminal legal reforms in Virginia. Specifically, we discuss the ways false media outrage about organized retail theft and the century old war on drug rhetoric have shaped Virginia's discourse on criminal legal policy.   Guest...

Today, Hunter is once again joined by James McDermott and Paul Chambers from the Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Office. This time, James and Paul are discussing how they utilized the new National Workload study to double their attorney staff. While the use of data was extremely important into winning over county commissioners, James' and Paul's willingness to let the system fail proved to...

Today, Hunter sat down with Jessica Brand, the found of the Wren Collective, to discuss their recent report about the death penalty in Harris County, Texas. For decades, Harris County used the death penalty more than anywhere in the world, but unlike many places, it did not use full time public defenders for these cases. Instead, they used court appointed counsel, and the results of that represent...

In a follow up to our episode on Operation Lone Star, Hunter is joined by UC Davis Law Professor Eric Fish to discuss his recent law review article, "Resisting Mass Immigration Prosecutions." On our previous OLS episode, we discussed the many ways the state of Texas has stacked the deck in its favor, making it extremely difficult for PDs to get anything close to a "win." Yet, OLS is not the first...

(AUDIO CORRECTED)   Following years of intense advocacy in the state house, a robust coalition of people in Illinois were successfully able to abolish cash bail with the SAFE-T Act. For the tough on crime crowd, this law would turn Illinois into "the Purge." Anarchy would claim the streets and the entire state would become lawless….but did that actually happen? Joining Hunter today are Celeste Kor...

In 2021, the Washington Supreme handed down one of the most important rulings in the history of the state. For decades, people in Washington were convicted under the state's felony drug possession law without any requirement they had knowledge of the drugs they possessed. The court struck down this strict liability law and opened the door for hundreds of thousands of people to be released, resente...

Today, Hunter spoke with Taylor Six, a journalist at the Lexington Harold Leader in Kentucky, to discuss her expansive coverage of the criminal legal system in the state. From a system that is almost devoid of all trials to accusations of racial bias in local prosecutors, Taylor is doing amazing work bringing to light the criminal legal stories that help drive better criminal legal policies.   Gue...

The protections of the Constitution are meant to apply to all Americans regardless of their status, but for those who are incarcerated, courts have systematically denied, abused, or ignored those protections. Today, Hunter is once again joined by Kaelen Perrochet, a UCLA law student and two-time previous guest, to take a look at the various rights prisoner's simply don't have. From denial of healt...

Today, Hunter is continuing his coverage of public defense in Texas by speaking with former Executive Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and current Executive Director of the Texas Fair Defense Project, Geoff Burkhart. Under his leadership, there was a massive expansion of institutional public defender offices around Texas, but it happened in an extremely unorthodox manner. Normally...