Public Defenseless

Today, Hunter is joined by two fierce advocates for youth justice in the state of Tennessee. Chris Kleiser, a Knox County Public Defender, and Meribah Knight, a Senior Reporter for Special Projects with Nashville Public Radio, bring us a story of how one rouge judge illegally policed and caged young people in Rutherford County Tennessee. Many of you may have read the shocking reporting last year a...

Today's guest brings a decade plus of experience in criminal justice policy reform to the San Francisco Public Defender Office. Hunter spoke with Angela Chan, Chief of Confront and Advocate, the policy branch of the SF Public Defender Office. In most places, District Attorneys operate by themselves in the policy world, and that is part of the reason that our society is awash with their policy pref...

Today, Hunter spoke with a longtime investigator in the innocence movement, Adam Deutsch, to discuss the wrongful conviction of Tim Wright. In 2008, was convicted of the murder of Justin Baumgardner, but after more than a decade behind bars, evidence is mounting that Tim is behind bars as a result of an elaborate cover up by the Amherst County Deputy Sheriffs. With the help of bad ballistics, bad...

*There was an issue with the file uploading to the podcast platforms. It has been corrected! Apologies* Today, Hunter spoke with Iowa Public Defender, Darren Page, to peel back the layers of Public Defense in Iowa to try and understand why the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court said the system was in a state of crisis. On many episodes, Hunter likes to explore how states determine if someone...

Joining Hunter today is Keith Wattley, the Founder and Executive Director of Uncommon Law. Keith and his team at Uncommon Law support people navigating California's discretionary parole process through trauma-informed legal representation, mental health counselling, legislative and policy advocacy, and in-prison programming led by those who have been through the process themselves. For decades, pe...

Today, Hunter is joined by criminal defense attorney and former public defender Amelia Power to discuss her role in defending those who protested the killing of Elijah McClain. As is so often the case, those who used their 1 st Amendment rights to protest the abuses of police found themselves facing hefty prison time.   Guests: Amelia Power, Criminal Defense Attorney, Colorado     Resources: Media...

While the Innocence Project has continuously done amazing work in revealing just how flawed our legal system can be, there has always been limits on the cases they take. Normally, these have been confined to cases where DNA evidence can definitively exonerate the wrongfully convicted. This practice can and does leave out countless people who are factually innocent behind bars. Today, Hunter spoke...

Few organizations have been able to demonstrate the injustice of our criminal legal system quite like the Innocence Project, but their fight against the things that manifest that injustice is far from over. Today, I spoke with Christina Swarns, Executive Director of the Innocence Project, to discuss how the organization plans to combat some of the most pressing issues contributing to wrongful conv...

Another union episode and another union episode predicated on a communication failure, a cost-of-living crisis and a desperate need for a fair contract. Today, Hunter spoke with three members of the NDS Harlem union, William Botchway, Naomi Schachter and Jeremy Tinsley, to discuss where the NDS Harlem stands now two months past the expiration of their previous contract. For everyone from entry lev...

Today, Hunter continues his exploration of the criminal legal system in Alaska. Joining him today is Fairbanks Public Defender, Justin Racette. On Tuesday, folks from the ACLU of Alaska talked us through how the turn to tough on crime polices created brutal prison conditions, and today, we will see how those policies have impacted the ability for Alaska Public Defenders to provide competent repres...

Today, Hunter spoke with Michael Garvey and Megan Edge of the ACLU of Alaska to examine the policy history of Alaska that has made it such a pro carceral state. For a brief moment in the mid 2010's, Alaska looked like it would start to turn towards a more rehabilitative model for its criminal legal system. Unfortunately, current Governor Mike Dunleavy had different plans. With his election in 2018...

Part of the goals of this show is to remind Public Defenders that they are not alone in their fight. There is a massive network across the nation of people from all walks of life fighting both in and out of the court room to try and make a more just legal system. Today, Hunter is once again joined by University of Michigan Professor of Law Eve Primus. This time, Hunter and Eve are talking about th...

There may be no Public Defender Union with as long and storied of a history as the New York Legal Aid Society's, and today, Hunter spoke with Chapter Chair of the NY Legal Aid Union, Jane Fox, to discuss the efforts to revitalize that very union. The challenges facing Jane and all Public Defenders in New York City are immense. The crushing criminal caseload is compounded by the cost-of-living cris...

From the limited discovery, limited access to witnesses, and the limited resources, Federal Public Defenders around the country are fighting for their clients at a massive disadvantage. Today, Hunter spoke with two Federal Public Defenders, Colin Prince and Jay McEntire, to try and understand how and why the deck is so heavily stacked against them. Drawing from their experience as corporate civil...

Montana Public Defense has seen a lot in the 21 st century. A lawsuit in the early aughts lead to massive changes and the creation of the state public defender system. Now almost 20 years later, the Montana Public Defense system is still only treading water. Driven by an shortage of attorneys around the state and severe under pay, the system is looking for new, innovative ways to stay afloat. Join...

What can we learn from the successes of other countries? Today, Hunter spoke with Iliana Pujols to compare and contrast the youth criminal legal system where she works in Connecticut and Norway. In particular, we discuss just how far removed from accepted international practices of youth justice, and what needs to be done to break through the American exceptionalism that stops Americans from learn...

As one of the many states without a unified system of Public Defense, the consistency of Public Defense and access to legal services from county to county is wildly inconsistent. Joining Hunter to speak about this justice by geography model is Larry Jefferson, Director of the Office of Public Defense. Despite the name, Larry and his office only hold limited ability to direct and assist in the deli...

Today, Hunter is once again joined by Devin Franklin from the Southern Center for Human Rights to discuss the latest violation of civil liberties in the state of Georgia. Today, they are discussing the recent indictment levied against 61 cop city protesters. As you read over the 100+ page indictment, you will find one consistent theme: the Attorney General of Georgia is doing everything in his pow...

Today, Hunter spoke with President of the National Association for Public Defense's Board of Directors, Cydni Sanchez, to discuss the NAPD's plan to help Public Defenders around the country implement the new National Workload Standards. With her experience in New Mexico, Cydni is expertly situated to dissect the difficulties of making a workload study like this turn into meaningful policy victorie...

Today, Hunter once again sat down with Stephen Hanlon to talk Public Defender Workload Studies. This time, they spoke about the brand new National Workload Standards for Public Defense that are finally out as of today! While it is extremely easy to be pessimistic about the potential for a workload study to lead to meaningful change in Public Defense, this could be a water shed moment. This report...

Last year, Hunter spoke with members of the newly formed Defenders Union of Colorado (DUC) to discuss their reason for unionization and the challenges facing all employees of Colorado Public Defense. Today, Hunter is once again speaking with DUC, but this time, they discussed the complete failure of leadership to be transparent with them and how that is eroding trust between the two.   Guests: Kiy...

When the Sixth Amendment Center came to Indiana, it left no doubt that Public Defense in the state was failing. Now seven years later, almost nothing has changed. How can that be possible? To answer that question and exploring why Indiana's Public Defender system is still failing, Hunter spoke with three Public Defenders, Ashley Spolarich, Deana Martin, and Joel Schumm, from Indiana.     Guests: A...

Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Ieshaah Murphy to understand how the racist history of the "Child Welfare" should inform our understanding of that very systems today. When analyzing a system for any type of systemic bias, it is essential to understand bot the past and present of the system. If a system that claims to be race neutral, but started with a clear racial animus and continues to produ...

How many people die in custody? Such a simple question, but no one can actually tell you the answer. Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Jay Aronson to discuss his new book Death in Custody: How America Ignores the Truth and What We Can Do about It to explore the reasons why.   Guests: Professor Jay Aronson, Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, Carnegie Mellon University   Resources: Buy...

For cops and prosecutors, the idea of not having access to their own forensic departments is almost inconceivable, but for Public Defense, that is the standard practice. Today, Hunter sat down with Jerome Greco, the supervising attorney for one of the only digital forensics unit in the country made specifically available to Public Defenders. With the rapid expansion of surveillance and digital tec...