Public Defenseless

Today, Hunter is joined by Nancy Farrell and Dee Miller of the New York Vet Defense Program. Previously on the show, Hunter and other guests have described the power of veteran and other treatment courts. However, we have often lamented at the limited scope that this courts offer veterans who need help but just not drug or alcohol treatment. With this program, Nancy and Dee offer veterans the cult...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by NAPD's Jeff Sherr. This time, they sat down to discuss NAPD's new Change Maker Forum, what Hunter learned from attending, and how NAPD hopes to use it to spark new, impactful changes in Public Defense.   Guests: Jeff Sherr, Director of Training, National Association of Public Defense   Resources: NAPD Changemaker Forum 2025 https://publicdefenders.us/event/the...

Today, Hunter is joined by Ph. D. candidate and law student Andrew Gurrero to discuss his research about the evolution of the UCLA police department. In this episode, Hunter and Andrew explore the origins of the department and the forces that drove the department away from its original mandate.   Guests: Andrew Gurrero, Ph. D Candidate, Harvard   Resources: Read Sources Discussed in the Episode He...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Rebecca Schaffer to discuss plea bargaining in Europe. As we did on Tuesday, this episode aims to help people understand the intractable problems with plea deals and what countries are doing to try and ameliorate those problems   Guests: Rebecca Schaffer, Former Legal Director, Fair Trials   Resources: Follow Rebecca on Twitter https://x.com/rebeccashaeffe?lan...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Aditi Goel of the Sixth Amendment Center. This time, we discuss their recent report about Public Defense in South Dakota. Like many county based, county funded Public Defense systems, South Dakota is plagued with underfunding, under staffing, lack of independence, and cost saving practices that make Public Defense ineffective. Yet, this episode has a ray of ho...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Lucian Dervan to discuss plea bargaining. This time, he joins to discuss what we can learn about plea bargaining from Japan's failed attempt to implement plea bargaining system.   Guests: Lucian Dervan, Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies, Belmont College of Law, Founding Director of the Plea Bargaining Institute Resources: Link to Lucian...

Today, Hunter is joined by Oregon Criminal Defense and Victim's Rights lawyer Rachel Philips. Over the past three years, Rachel has been outspoken about retaliation that women attorneys faced from members of the Oregon Public Defense Commission. She joins the show to discuss her efforts to bring that retaliation to light and to discuss her candidacy for a seat on the bench in Multnomah County.   G...

Today, Hunter is joined by Ames Grawert of the Brennan Center to discuss a recent Brennan Center report of Bail Reform's impact (or lack thereof) on crime rates.   Guests: Ames Grawert, Senior Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice   Resources:   Read the Report https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/bail-reform-and-public-safety Read more of Ames' Work https://www.brennancenter.org/...

Today, Hunter is joined by Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley De-Bug to discuss participatory defense. In the early 2000's, Raj and SVDB sought to give communities a voice in places they traditionally were excluded from or ignored. Eventually, the community made clear that they needed and wanted a way to be more involved with the criminal legal system. From there, SVDB came up with participatory defens...

Today, Hunter is joined by Jee Park, the Executive Director of the Innocence Project of New Orleans to discuss wrongful convictions and post-conviction work in Louisiana. After our past two episodes, it should be clear that there are serious issues with adult and youth representation in Louisiana. Unfortunately, this keeps groups like IPNO extremely busy, and that ensures that inevitably they will...

Today, Hunter is joined by Hannah Van De Car to discuss the recent "tough on crime" policies that Louisiana Jeff Landry is pursuing in the Youth Justice space. From a repeal of raise the age to increased future punishment for children in possession of firearms, Governor Landry is taking an already punitive state and making it into one of the most pro carceral places on Earth.   Guests: Hannah Van...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Derwyn Bunton. The last time Derwyn was on the show, he was the chief Public Defender in the Orleans Parish of Louisiana, but he is now the Chief Legal Officer at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Today, Derwyn joined the show to discuss what has been happening with Louisiana's Public Defender system. Specifically, Derwyn is here to discuss the consolidation of...

Today, Hunter is joined by Pam Vickrey, Executive Director of the Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys to discuss a recent report, conducted in partnership with the Gault Center, about the problems and promises of Youth Defense in Utah.   Guests: Pam Vickrey, Executive Director, Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys   Resources: Read the Report Here https://www.defendyouthrights.org/wp-content/uploads/Utah...

Today, Hunter is joined by journalist Katey Rusch to discuss her recent bombshell reporting on California law enforcement agencies use of "clean record" agreements to keep police misconduct from defense lawyers, the public, and even other law enforcement agencies.   Guests: Katey Rusch, Reporter, California   Resources: Contact Katey https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/katey-rusch/ katey.rusch@...

Today, Hunter is joined by Paul Bowen and Jacqueline van Wormer Ph. D. to discuss the juvenile treatment courts that they have helped set up around the country. As has been the case on previous episodes about youth defense, today we discuss both the politics and science behind ensuring that courts are considering the unique needs of the youth being processed through them.   Guests: Paul Bowen, Pro...

Today, Hunter is joined by civil litigator Park Stinar to discuss his work in suing people and organizations who have sexually violated his clients. Through his career, Parker has pursued justice against Larry Nassar and Michigan State, the Catholic Church, Juvenile Detention Facilities, and the University of Michigan because of their role in the sexual assault of his clients. While not a normal e...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Leah Nelson, and this time, she is joined by Judge Stepehen Wallace. On today's episode, Leah and Judge Wallace are her to unveil their years long research into the fines and fees that the Jefferson County, Alabama Courts are extracting from criminal defendants. As will surprise no one who listens to the show, the fines and fees program fails the accused, fail...

Today, Hunter is joined by two people who's work attempts to bring people together to heal after a wrongful conviction. Jennifer Thompson, Founder of Healing Justice, and Professor Jamie Lau from Duke University join the show to discuss how they help the wrongfully convicted, the victims in a wrongful conviction, the families of both, and the communities they are from come together to talk and hop...

Today, Hunter is joined by former Public Defender and current Senior Advisor to District Attorney Larry Krasner, Matthew Stiegler. After Tuesday's episode, we saw the promise and limitations of Public Defenders holding police accountable, and today, we examine those same promises and limitations for criminal legal reforms that progressive prosecution offers.   Guests: Matthew Stiegler, Senior Advi...

Today, Hunter is joined by two Philly Public Defenders, Michael Mellon and Paula Sen, to discuss how their work with the Philly Public Defender Police Accountability Unit helped to uncover a systemic pattern and practice of lies and illegal use of surveillance cameras.   Guests: Paula Sen, Assistant Public Defender, Defender Association of Philadelphia Michael Mellon, Assistant Public Defender, De...

Today, Hunter is joined by Stanislaus County Chief Public Defender, Jennifer Jennison. In the past year, Jennifer has been confronted with the most challenging question a Chief can face: Should I refuse to take on new cases because the current workload that my attorneys have is unethically high? Today's episode attempts to understand that historical and current conditions that lead Jennifer to mak...

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Jessica Brand and Adrienne Johnson of the Wren Collective. This time, Jessica and Adrienne join to discuss their recent report about the failings of Public Defense in Nueces County, Texas.   Guests: Jessica Brand, Founder, Wren Collective Adrienne Johnson, Senior Counsel, Wren Collective Resources:   Wren Collective Website https://www.wrencollective.org/   Wr...

Today, Hunter is joined by former whistleblower Brittany Iriart and Civil Rights Attorney Andy McNulty to discuss a scandalous coverup with the Denver Sheriffs Department. When she moved to a civilian oversight position with the Denver Sheriff, Brittany hoped to bring some much needed accountability to a department with a history of burying misconduct. Unfortunately, the incremental changes around...

Today, Hunter is joined by Colorado Newsline Journalist Chase Woodruff. Over the past several weeks, Aurora, Colorado has been thrust into the national spotlight thanks to right wing media and politicians. Despite their many sensationalist claims, Aurora and the state at large have not in fact been taken over by Venezuelan gangs. Today's episode is meant to help compile reporting and walk through...

Today, Hunter is joined by Jessica Pishko to discuss her new book The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy . So far on the show, Hunter has spent a lot of time discussing the corruption and abuses of police and prosecutors, but the show has not spent much time discussing the issues of sheriffs. Thanks to years of incredible investigative journalism, Jess...