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 Dean Jenny Roberts of Hofstra Law School. On today's episode, Hunter and Dean Roberts discuss a law review article that Dean Roberts published last year about how public defenders can/should respond to the progressive prosecutors.
Guest:
Jenny Roberts, Dean, Hofstra Law
Resources:
Contact Dean Roberts Here
https://law.hofstra.edu/jenny-roberts/
Read the Article Here
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4574381
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Joshua Clark Daivs to discuss his new book, Police Against the Movement. In the book, Professor Davis tells the often forgotten story of how police departments surveilled, infiltrated, and sabotaged civil rights movements that challenged the power of police.
Guest:
Joshua Clark Davis, Professor of History, University of Baltimore
Resources:
Professor Davis's Website
https://www.joshuaclarkdavis.com/
Get a Copy of The Book
Follow Josh on
Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/joshuaclarkdavis.bsky.social
Twitter https://x.com/joshclarkdavis
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Shira Diner to discuss the Bar Advocate work stoppage in the state of Massachusetts. Back in May, the Bar Advocates, the private defense lawyers who handle 80% of Massachusetts's public defender workload, stopped taking new cases due to the incredibly low hourly rate they are paid. Since then, thousands of people have been left without representation as the courts have been unable to assign cases to attorneys. Now the question is, where does the state go from here?
Guest:
Shira Diner, Professor of Law, Boston University
Resources:
News on Bar Advocates Here
https://www.alaa.org/thealaaorganizer/massachusetts-defense-attorneys-enter-third-month-on-strike
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/06/27/court-massachusetts-defense-strike-bar
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/bar-advocates-attorney-work-stoppage-pay-raise/
https://www.wcvb.com/article/bar-advocate-strike-massachusetts-healey/65491317
Contact Shira
https://www.bu.edu/law/profile/shira-m-diner/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter was joined by Caneel Fraser and Tatyana Kaplan of California's Office of the State Public Defender. The three sat down to discuss an OSPD report, Unequal Scales, to explore how and why Public Defender's are so underfunded in comparison to prosecutors.
Guest:
Caneel Fraser, Executive Director, Indigent Defense Improvement Division, California Office of the State Public Defender
Tatyana Kaplan, Data Specialist, Indigent Defense Improvement Division, California Office of the State Public Defender
Resources:
OSPD Website
Reports
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2024-IDID-Annual-Report_Final_Accessible.pdf
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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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 joined once again by Alec Karatkatsanis. This time, Alec is here discussing Copaganda, cop fueled propaganda that shapes the way our society understands crime, the criminal legal system, and most importantly, convinces people that the only way to make our communities safer is by increasing our policing. In his new book, Copaganda, Alec explains how this propaganda is created, how it is laundered through ostensibly liberal media sources, and what we can do about it.
Guest:
Alec Karatkatsanis, Author and Executive Director, Civil Rights Corps
Resources:
Pick up a Copy of the Book
https://firestorm.coop/products/22254-copaganda.html
Check out Civil Rights Corps's Work
SF Standard Article
https://sfstandard.com/2025/09/08/sfpd-flock-alpr-ice-data-sharing/
Correction. When Hunter spoke about the article, he stated it was 2.1 million illegal searches. It was actually 1.6 million
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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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 joined by John J. Lennon to discuss his new book, The Tragedy of True Crime: Four Guilty Men and the Stories that Define Us. John is a currently incarcerated journalist who presents the stories of four men, Michael Shane Hale, Robert Chambers, Milton Jones, and his own, in his book. Each of these men committed murder, but John sets out to tell a more complete picture to try and capture a more comprehensive picture of these men and the system that punishes them.
Guest:
John J. Lennon, Incarcerated Journalist and Author
Resources:
John's Contacts
https://x.com/JohnJLennon1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://www.facebook.com/JohnJLennonJournalist/
Pick up a Copy of the Book Here
https://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-True-Crime-Guilty-Stories/dp/1250858240
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
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Donate on PayPal
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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 Will Snowden of the Juror Project to discuss how they plan on revitalizing the jury around the country.
Guest:
Will Snowden, Director, The Juror Project
Resources:
The Juror Project
https://www.thejurorproject.org/
https://www.thejurorproject.org/contact
https://www.instagram.com/jurorproject/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/jurorproject/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patreon
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Donate on PayPal
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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 joined once again by Vichal Kumar of Partners for Justice. This time, Vichal joins the show to discuss a new toolkit that Partners for Justice has put together to give Public Defenders resources to up incorporate collaborative Public Defender practices.
Guest:
Vichal Kumar, Managing Director for Capacity Building, Partners for Justice
Resources:
Access the Toolkit Here
https://www.partnersforjustice.org/toolkit
Partners for Justice
https://www.partnersforjustice.org/
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!
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Today, Hunter was joined by Michael Rempel and Anna Stenkamp of the Data Collaborative for Justice. They discuss a recent report authored by DCJ about the impacts, or lack thereof, that came from the changes to New York's discovery laws.
*** Correction to the show. The Data Collaborative caught an error in the underlying data related to case processing times in NYC. "Due to an error found in the underlying data, the report and analyses have been updated as of September 2025. There was one consequential change that showed case processing times in NYC for indicted felonies had increased from 2019 to 2024."****
Guest:
Michael Rempel, Director, Data Collaborative for Justice
Anna Stenkamp, Senior Research Associate, Data Collaborative for Justice
Resources:
Read the Report Here
Data Collaborative for Justice
https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/
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!
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Today, Hunter was joined by activist, prisoner journalist, and author of Ending Isolation, Christopher Blackwell. On this episode, Chris and Hunter discuss the book, the horrors of solitary confinement, and why the practice needs to end.
Guest:
Christopher Blackwell, activist, prisoner journalist, and author of Ending Isolation, and executive director of Look 2 Justice
Resources:
Christopher Blackwell's website and Socials
https://www.christopher-blackwell.com/
https://x.com/chriswblackwell?lang=en
Look to Justice
https://www.instagram.com/look2justice/?hl=en
Broken is Beautiful Podcast
https://www.brokenisbeautifulpod.com/
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
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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
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