Public Defenseless

Today, Hunter was joined by Jennifer Doleac, Executive VP of Criminal Justice at Arnold Ventures and author of the book, The Science of Second Chances . Throughout the episode, Hunter and Jennifer discuss the evidence that supports rehabilitation as a purpose of punishment, the lack of evidence to support retribution as a purpose of punishment, and get into their disagreements about the role of po...

Today, Hunter was joined by Lucy Frick and Tim Smith of the Marion County Public Defender Office in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over the past two years, Lucy, Tim and the rest of the office fought hard to unionize their office. This episode aims to help people understand why they fought so hard and why others should unionize their offices.       Guest: Lucy Frick, Attorney, Major Felony Division, Mario...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Dawn Deaner, Executive Director of the Choosing Justice Initiative and a candidate for Davidson County Judge Criminal Court Division III. Dawn and Hunter discussed some major changes to the legal system in Tennessee that make it easier for the state to incarcerate people pre- and post-trial. As these policies have come into effect, Dawn has vocally opposed th...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Jennifer Sellitti, the Public Defender for the state of New Jersey. This time, Hunter and Jennifer discussed a slew of topics including her efforts to expand holistic defender services across the state and how her office is leading the way in integrating AI tools into their practice.     Guest: Jennifer Sellitti, The Public Defender for the State of New Jerse...

Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Terence Keel to discuss his book Coroner's Silence : Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence . Hunter and Terrance discussed the history of the coroner's office and how they are able to use the five categories of death classification to make it impossible to hold people accountable for death's in custody.       Guest: Terence Keel, Professor, U...

Today, Hunter was joined by Maureen Hanlon and Anita Tabb, two people fighting to change how Missouri treats people with mental illness in the states jails and prisons. Under Missouri law, a person who is found incompetent to stand trial is to have a competency evaluation conducted within 60 days of the court ordering it. Yet, people are often waiting 6 months just to be evaluated, and on average,...

Today, Hunter was joined by two amazing guests from the Fines and Fees Justice Center, Dylan Hayre and Emily King. They joined the show to discuss incredible campaigns in Arizona, North Dakota, and Oklahoma that have started to eliminate the fines and fees that keep people trapped in debt for decades.     Guest: Dylan Hayre, National Advocacy and Campaign Director, Fines and Fees Justice Center Em...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Vichal Kumar. On previous episodes, Vichal joined to discuss the incredible work he has accomplished with Partners for Justice. Today, he joins the show to discuss how the lessons he has learned as a line PD and with PFJ are driving him to run for Congress in New York's 7 th Congressional District.     Guest: Vichal Kumar, Candidate for New York's 7 th Congre...

Today, Hunter was joined by Lilah Thompson and Maria Thomson from the Defenders Association of Philadelphia. These two work in the office's immigration unit, and they joined the show to detail how their office has stepped up to resist Trump's plans for mass deportation.       Guest: Lilah Thompson, Chief of the Immigration Unit, Defenders Association of Philadelphia Maria Thomson, Immigration Atto...

Today, Hunter was joined by Amanda Carrasco a restorative justice advocate and author of Becoming the Brave One . Throughout her life, Amanda has dealt with tremendous trauma from surviving multiple sexual assaults and the murder of her close family friends. Despite those experiences, Amanda is a champion for different approaches to the criminal legal system in the form of restorative justice prac...

Today, Hunter was joined by Kay Edwards from the Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Office. There, Kay is the Mental Health Supervisor and she joins the show to discuss how her office has implemented a new organizational structure and way of thinking that empowers social workers to take more active roles in cases.     Guest: Kay Edwards, Mental Health Supervisor, Far West Texas Public Defende...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Tracie Olson the Chief Public Defender of the Yolo County Public Defender Office. Tracie joins to discuss the recent Deason Center report about the dramatic underfunding of Public Defense in California and the impacts of Prop 36 on her community.     Guest: Tracie Olson, Chief Public Defender, Yolo County, California   Resources: Read the Report Here https://...

Today, Hunter was joined by Matt Sanders, Director of King County's Department of Public Defense. Matt joins to discuss Washington's millionaire tax and the impact Public Defense will face because of the tax revenue no longer going to fund Public Defense.     Guest: Matt Sanders, Director, King County Department of Public Defense, Washington   Resources: Learn more about DPD here https://kingcount...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Anat Rubin, an Investigative Journalist with Cal Matters. This time, Anat joins to discuss her reporting about the "Wal-Mart" of Public Defense. Coined decades ago, these private law firms who accept contracts to provide Public Defender services to rural parts of California have long faced scrutiny for their cost cutting practices.     Guest: Anat Rubin, Inve...

Today, Hunter was joined by two members of Washington's Family Defense Team, Brett Ballew and Tonia McClanahan. As we did on Tuesday, the show explores the ways Public Defense can and should expand to include family defense. This time, Hunter and his guests dive into a state that has been leading the way in this expansion.     Guest: Brett Ballew, Supervising Attorney, Public Defense Parent Repres...

Today, Hunter was joined by Mary Anne Mendenhall, the Director of Family Defense Initiatives with Partners for Justice. On previous episodes, Hunter has explored the dire need for Public Defense to expand its services to include family defenders. Today, Mary Anne joins to provide a deep dive into the family separation industrial complex and how to better integrate family defenders into Public Defe...

Today, Hunter was joined by Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. With more than 20 years of experience, Jay brings a comprehensive understanding of why and how mass surveillance technology is spreading across America.     Guest: Jay Stanley, Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project     Resources: Check out Jay's Wo...

Today, Hunter was joined by Dalourny Nemorin, a public defender with the Legal Aid Society and candidate for NY's 15 th Congressional District. Dalourny joins the show to discuss her candidacy, why she is running, and how her background as a public defender makes her the perfect fit to represent the South Bronx in Congress.     Guest: Dalourny Nemorin, Public Defender and Candidate for New York's...

Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Andrew Ferguson to discuss his new book, Your Data will be Used Against You . In it, Professor Ferguson discusses how and why mass surveillance is exploding in the United States and the dangers that expansion poses towards all those that value the right to privacy.     Guest: Andrew Ferguson, Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law   Resou...

Today, Hunter was joined by Maine's Frayla Tarpinian, the new Executive Director of Maine's Commission on Public Defense Services.     Guest: Frayla Tarpinian, Executive Director, Maine Commission on Public Defense   Resources: Website https://www.maine.gov/pds/   Coverage of the Shortfall https://mainemorningstar.com/2026/02/04/facing-imminent-13m-shortfall-committee-advances-bill-to-shore-up-pub...

Today, Hunter was joined by Kyle Giddings and Rebecca Wallace to discuss how tough on crime types shape Colorado criminal justice policy. From the outside looking in, one could be forgiven for thinking that Colorado is one of the most progressive states in the country. After all, it was one of the few places in America that broke towards the left in the 2024 election. Despite the complete control...

Today, Hunter was joined by René Ropac of the Data Collaborative for Justice to discuss their newest report on the impacts, or lack thereof, of New York's bail reforms.     Guest: René Ropac, Senior Research Associate, Data Collaborative for Justice   Resources: Read the Report https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/work/bail-reform/examining-the-impact-of-eliminating-bail-on-recidivism-in-the-ne...

Today, Hunter was joined by three people, Maggie Bott, Brandon Garcia, and Bob Kolstad, who have lived through the federal occupation of Minneapolis. They join the show to detail what ICE, CBP, and DHS have been doing in the city and how the city has organized and resisted those efforts.   Guest: Brandon Garcia, Policy Aide to City Council President Elliot Page, Minneapolis, Minnesota Maggie Bott,...

Today, Hunter spoke with Matthew Guariglia, a historian, scholar, and author of the book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York . In it, Matthew walks the read through the early history of the New York Police Department. By learning this history, the hope is that people understand what some of the essential characteristics of American policing are. Hopefull...

Today, Hunter spoke w/Stacey Lowe, Executive Director of the Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services. They discussed why Stacey joined Shannon Wilson's lawsuit challenging the new contract conditions put in place by the Oregon Public Defense Commission.     Guest: Stacey Lowe, Executive Director, Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services   Resources: SWOPDS https://swopds.org/   Contact Stacey  ...