Stay ConnectedAnyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day.
Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system.
Today, Hunter was joined by Danielle Harris, Managing Attorney of the Freedom Project at the San Francisco Public Defender Office. Thanks to mass incarceration policies like mandatory minimums and three strikes laws, thousands of people in California languish away serving brutally harsh sentences. Recognizing the cruelty, the state passed a series of laws aimed at giving people a pathway to early release, and for years, Danielle and her team at the Freedom Project have helped people get early release. Sadly, their grant funding is at an end, and this episode is a reminder that if we are serious about reducing the harms of mass incarceration, we must be willing to fund the mechanisms that undo it.
Guest:
Danielle Harris, Managing Attorney for the Freedom Project, San Francisco Public Defender
Resources:
Read about the stories in today's episode
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/21/magazine/juvenile-justice-california.html
https://wearedefender.com/forty-four-years & https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/SF-public-defender-unit-helps-Oakland-man-go-free-15301831.php
Learn More about the Freedom Project
https://missionlocal.org/2024/05/public-defender-resentencing-program/
Contact the SF Public Defender
https://www.facebook.com/sfpublicdefender
https://www.instagram.com/sfpublicdefender/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter was joined once again by Professor Justin Murray. This time, Justin and Hunter discussed Justin's newest law review article, Brady's Shadow. In the article, Justin lays out the landmark Supreme Court Case Brady v. Maryland has left criminal defendants with a deeply flawed access to exculpatory evidence.
Guest:
Justin Murray, Professor of Law, New York Law School
Resources:
Read the Article Here
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5393687
Contact Justin
https://www.nyls.edu/faculty/justin-murray/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
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Today, Hunter was joined by two guests from the Brooklyn Defender Services, Heather Stoloff and Andie Markowitz. Unfortunately, today's conversation brings us another allegation of a public defender leader engaging in flagrant union busting efforts. A few months ago, the Executive Director of the organization called Andie in for a one on one meeting. In that meeting, Andie alleges that the Executive Director handed her instructions detailing how to dissolve the office's current union, how to create a new one, and as Andie understood it, that she would be rewarded for doing so.
Guest:
Heather Stoloff, Attorney Team Lead, Preserving Family Bonds Team, Brooklyn Defender Services
Andie Markowitz, Senior Social Worker, Brooklyn Defender Services
Resources:
Read More Here
https://www.alaa.org/media-releases/resolution-condemning-lisa-schreibersdorf
https://hellgatenyc.com/brooklyn-defender-services-union-bust/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
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Today, Hunter was joined by the CJA Panel Rep for New Mexico, Ryan Villa. The last time Hunter talked about CJA panels on the show he discussed how the federal government stopped paying the panels back in July. After months of not getting paid, Ryan and the rest of the New Mexico panel decided that enough was enough. They wrote a letter stating they would no longer be accepting new cases. With the future funding of this system in doubt, this could be a preview of what is in store for federal public defense in the near future.
Guest:
Ryan Villa, CJA Panel Rep, Federal District of New Mexico
Resources:
Contact Ryan ryan@rjvlawfirm.com
Read the Letter
Memo in California
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
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https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
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Today, Hunter was the President and Founder of #AfghanEvac, Shaw VanDiver. During our two decades of conflict in Afghanistan, America made a promise to hundreds of thousands of Afghans who helped our cause: work with us, and we will provide you safety from the Taliban. Yet when Kabul fell back into the hands of the Taliban, America left behind more than 195,000 of our allies in harms way. Shawn and his team at #AfghanEvac aim to fulfil the promise we made to our Afghan allies by assisting them in claiming asylum in the United States.
Guest:
Shawn VanDiver, President and Founder, #AfghanEvac
Resources:
Contact Shawn and His Team
https://www.instagram.com/afghan_evac
https://www.youtube.com/c/AfghanEvac
https://www.facebook.com/AfghanEvac
https://www.tiktok.com/@afghanevac
https://truthsocial.com/@afghanevac
https://bsky.app/profile/afghanevac.bsky.social
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14026798/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Today, Hunter was joined by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull, Co-authors of the book, Jailhouse Lawyer. In this book, Sophie and Calvin tell the story of Calvin's life. As a teenager, Calvin was wrongfully charged with and ultimately convicted of a homicide. He faced a life sentence in Angola State Prison. For the nearly three decades that Calvin was wrongfully incarcerated, he worked as a jailhouse lawyer. In that role, he helped countless men, in hopeless legal situations challenge the conditions and legality of their confinement. Now, Calvin and Sophie are here to share the power that a jailhouse lawyer can have in radically challenging mass incarceration.
Guest:
Calvin Duncan, Co-Author of The Jailhouse Lawyer¸ Director of the Light of Justice Program
Sophie Cull, Co-Author of The Jailhouse Lawyer, Louisiana
Resources:
Contact Calvin
https://www.loyno.edu/academics/faculty-and-staff-directory/calvin-duncan
Pick up a Copy of the Book
https://www.calvinduncan.com/p/book-the-jailhouse-lawyer
Follow Them on Socials
https://www.instagram.com/jailhouse_lawyer/?hl=en
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Today, Hunter was joined by Eric Seiferth and Nick Weldon of the New Orleans Historic Collection to discuss a historic exhibit they curated. The Captive State traces the story of mass incarceration to its historical roots to Louisiana's colonial slave holding past.
Guest:
Eric Seiferth, Curator/Historian, New Orleans Historic Collection
Nick Weldon, Senior Editor, New Orleans Historic Collection
Resources:
Buy the Book Here
https://hnoc.org/publishing/books/captive-state
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Today, Hunter was joined by two guest from the Detroit Justice Center, Nancy A. Parker and Rubina Mustafa. As they did on Tuesday, Hunter and his guests are exploring court related fines and fees, how fines and fees are impacting communities in Michigan, and the policies that have started the slow fight to eliminate court fines and fees.
Guest:
Nancy A. Parker, Executive Director, Detroit Justice Center
Rubina Mustafa, Senior Staff Attorney, Detroit Justice Center
Resources:
Detroit Justice Center
FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES:
info@detroitjustice.org
FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:
media@detroitjustice.org
Michigan Road to Restoration
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/license-id/road-to-restoration
Documentaries
https://finedout.com/new-mexico/
https://finedout.com/michigan/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
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https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN
Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Today, Hunter was joined once again by journalist Katey Rausch. Last time Katey was on the show, she discussed her bombshell reporting on the non-disclosure agreements law enforcement was using to hide the misconduct of law enforcement officers. Now, Katey is here to describe how that reporting has turned into a ban on those agreements and a state wide data base to allow people to track law enforcement misconduct.
Guest:
Katey Rusch, Record Requests Manager and Data Journalist, California Reporting Project, UC Berkeley School of Journalism
Resources:
Contact Katey
https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/katey-rusch/
https://x.com/kateyrusch?lang=en
Read Katey's Work and About the Database
https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2024/police-clean-record-agreements/
https://gijn.org/stories/investigating-police-officer-misconduct/
https://journalism.berkeley.edu/berkeley-and-stanford-police-database/
https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/08/police-misconduct-records-database/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
Donate on Stripe
https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN
Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Today, Hunter spoke with Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center. Today, the two sat down to discuss FFJC's campaign to end court fines and fess the automatically revoke a person's driver's license nationally and in New Mexico
Guest:
Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Fines and Fees Justice Center
Resources:
FFJC
https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/
https://www.facebook.com/finesandfeesjc/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/finesandfeesjc/
https://bsky.app/profile/finesandfeesjc.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@finesfeesjusticecenter9462
Reform in New Mexico
Documentaries
https://finedout.com/new-mexico/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
Donate on Stripe
https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN
Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
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