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 1st Amendment rights to protest the abuses of police found themselves facing hefty prison time. Guests: Amelia Power, Criminal Defense Attorney, Colorado Resources: Media Coverage of the Case https://www.westword.com/news/elijah-mcclain-protesters-charges-dropped-12335973 http...
Oct 10, 2023•48 min•Ep. 170
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 with Valena Beety to examine the women and LGBTQ community members who have been wrongfully convicte...
Oct 05, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 168
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 convictions. From massively overworked Public Defenders, all kinds of implicit biases, and ever emerging...
Oct 03, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 171
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 level attorneys to social workers, and housing advocates, the compensation at NDS Harlem is simply not ...
Sep 29, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 170
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 representation to each of their clients. Guests: Justin Racette, Assistant Public Defender, Fairbanks Alas...
Sep 28, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 167
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, the state shifted right back to its history of being tough on crime and pro carceral. Now, the sta...
Sep 26, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 166
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 the MDefenders latest program, the Data for Defenders. This new tool from the University of Michigan i...
Sep 25, 2023•40 min
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 crisis impacting the attorneys, staff, and their clients. If Public Defenders and their clients are goin...
Sep 22, 2023•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 167
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 litigators, Colin and Jay demonstrate how our society empowers those fighting over money while simul...
Sep 21, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 165
Montana Public Defense has seen a lot in the 21st 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. Joining Hunter to discuss these newer data driven approaches is Brett Schandelson, Director of the State ...
Sep 19, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 164
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 learning from other countries. Guests: Iliana Pujols, Policy Director at Connecticut Justice Alliance, Yo...
Sep 15, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 164
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 delivery of Public Defense across Washington. Nonetheless, Larry has dreams of a completely different mo...
Sep 14, 2023•59 min•Ep. 163
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 power to cage as many people as possible who would dare challenge the power, plans, and policy of the s...
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 162
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 victories. Guests: Cydni Sanchez, President, Board of Directors, National Association for Public Defense, De...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 161
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 provides Public Defenders around the country with the data they need to stand up for themselves and ...
Sep 12, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 160
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: Kiyomi Bolick, Long Time Colorado Public Defender and a Founding Organizer of DUC Mike Kubicek, Investiga...
Sep 08, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 159
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: Ashley Spolarich, Chief Deputy Public Defender, Montgomery County Indiana Deana Martin, Major Case/Forens...
Sep 07, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 158
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 produce racially disparate outcomes, it is compelling evidence that its bias initial purpose may still be...
Sep 05, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 157
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 the book (use code HTWN) https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/authors/jay-d-aronson-phd Professor Aronson Fac...
Sep 01, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 156
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 technology in the hands of police and prosecutors, Public Defense should look to the success of Jerome ...
Aug 31, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 155
Today, Hunter is once again joined by former NACDL President Martin Sabelli to discuss the criminal charge that everyone is talking about, RICO. As with many laws on the books, RICO started out designed to target a specific group of people: leadership of the Mafia. Also like many laws on the books, it was written in such an ambiguous and wide manner that prosecutors could use it far beyond its intended purpose. Over the years, RICO has been used against targets never intended or envisioned by th...
Aug 30, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 154
Despite being the bedrock of our criminal legal system, “the jury trial is an exceptional rather than a commonplace outcome.” Today, Hunter is joined by Martin Sabelli and Nathan Pysno to discuss somethings leading to the erosion of the jury trial. Specifically, they discuss how harsh sentences enable coercive plea bargaining and enshrine the “trial penalty”. Few if any other Constitutionally protected rights lead to a person being punished for using them, but the trial penalty is nothing more t...
Aug 29, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 153
In the past few weeks, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to abuse his powers once again as the head of state and remove an elected State Attorney. This time, the 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell landed in Governor DeSantis’ cross hairs. Today, Hunter is joined by Central Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Andrew Darling to discuss what happened. If you take the story that Governor DeSantis proclaims on face value, you could be led to believe that Worrell was a rouge prosecu...
Aug 25, 2023•58 min•Ep. 152
Trust between Public Defenders and the communities they serve has been a long running theme of the show. The benefits of such a trusting relationship seem obvious, but today, Hunter spoke with Wisconsin Public Defender, Alexander Kostal, to discuss an extremely important outcome from a trusting attorney/client relationship: increased opportunity for litigation. In order to push back against the overreaches of police and prosecutors, cases need to be heard in an open court room, but what if the c...
Aug 24, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 151
In back-to-back years, the Sixth Amendment Center revealed that Public Defense in Detroit was failing. Both the contract and institutional Public Defender were failing to provide competent counsel in every case. For the largest city in Michigan, the future seemed dire. Then, the Neighborhood Defender Services extended their non-profit Public Defender Model to the city, and for the first time in a long time, there was a glimmer of hope for holistic defense in Detroit. Joining Hunter to speak abou...
Aug 22, 2023•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 150
Recently, Hunter was a guest host on the Another Not Guilty Podcast, and he is happy to share that episode today as a bonus show! The Another Not Guilty Podcast details true crime's forbidden stories of the criminal system from the insiders' perspective of public defenders told with a little humor, drama, and passion for criminal justice reform. Visit them at www.anothernotguiltypod.com In this week's episode we have Hunter Parnell from the Public Defenseless podcast as a co-host. And also our g...
Aug 21, 2023•1 hr 43 min
Sometimes referred to as Civil Asset Forfeiture, today’s episode is an examination of the legalized theft that is civil forfeiture. Joining Hunter to unpack the intricacies of this topic, is Dan Alban. In his role at the Institute for Justice, Dan is one of the people at the forefront of people pushing back against the practice that flips the concept of innocent until proven guilty on its head. As you will hear on this episode, the complex legal nature of this topic masks a process that most Ame...
Aug 17, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 149
Whether you call it Jury Nullification or Conscientious Acquittal, today’s episode is all about the fight to reinvigorate the jury trial and the independence of the jury. Joining Hunter to discuss is Clark Neily, Senior VP for Legal Studies at the CATO Institute. Before America was even a country, the power of a jury to acquit someone of a charge they were legally guilty of because the jury disagree with the law as applied in this case was unquestioned. Over time however, prosecutors and judges ...
Aug 15, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 148
A little less than a year ago, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey of the Sentencing Project to explore why states like Oklahoma so readily punish the survivors of domestic violence. Today, Hunter returns to Oklahoma to speak with Colleen McCarty and Leslie Briggs from Oklahoma Appleseed to discuss their work in trying to push back against the expansion of the carceral state in Oklahoma. In particular, this conversation centers in large part about the Wrongful Conviction of April Wilkens. With th...
Aug 11, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 147
In the state of Georgia, the Public Defender Counsel lacks independence from the Executive Branch. As a result, their ability to speak out on social issues is severely limited. For former Georgia Public Defender Devin Franklin, the inability to speak out against police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd drove him out of a decade long career in Public Defense. For him, and for Hunter, the advocacy of a Public Defender cannot end in the four walls of the court room. Tune in to tod...
Aug 10, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 146
