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 spoke with Professor Daniel Loehr to discuss his research on the Eugenics Origin of Habitual Offender Laws. While many people hear habitual offender laws and think of the three strikes laws from the tough on crime era of the 1990's, Daniel reveals that the history of these laws traces back to a much earlier and darker time in our nation's history. Daniel lays out how America's Eugenics movement wanted habitual offender laws to act as a way to stop certain populations from procreating, and what we as a society should do with these laws given their history.
Guest
Daniel Loehr, Professor of Law, City University of New York School of Law
Resources:
Contact Daniel
daniel.loehr@law.cuny.edu
https://www.law.cuny.edu/faculty/directory/daniel-loehr/
Daniel Files an Amicus Brief in Colorado
Daniel's Article
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5159292
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Today, Hunter spoke with Amanda Jack and Kalle Condliffe of the New York Legal Aid Society about the fight to save Kalief's Law. This law, passed in 2020, aimed to create much needed reforms to evidence discovery in criminal trials. Naturally, prosecutors have hated new requirements for disclosure, and they have attempted to get the laws peeled back before they even went in place. Now with the help of Governor Hochul, prosecutors are once again trying to get these laws repealed so they can return to their preferred practice, trail by ambush.
Guest
Amanda Jack, Policy Director, Criminal Defense Practice, New York Legal Aid Society
Kalle Condliffe, Supervising Attorney, New York Legal Aid Society
Resources:
Protect Kalief's Law Coalition
https://protectkaliefslaw.com/
Email Amanda
Amandajack@gmail.com
Email Kalle
kcondliffe@legal-aid.org
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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Today, Hunter spoke with Paul Chambers and James McDermott of the Far West Texas Public Defenders Office. This time, they joined to discuss how Paul discovered and James litigated a pattern and practice of discovery violations by the El Paso District Attorney's Office.
Guest
James McDermott, Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender
Paul Chambers, Deputy Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender
Resources:
Far West Texas Public Defender in the News
https://elpasomatters.org/2024/12/15/el-paso-district-attorney-prosecutorial-misconduct-ruling/
Read the Transcripts Here
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12B3vAOl2yedDdFPUEkAzrrovbHnUdayB?usp=sharing
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Today, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey and Cindy Nguyen to discuss Oklahoma's Failure to Protect Laws. A few years back, Alexandra joined the show to discuss theses laws, and as a reminder, these laws allow for victims of domestic violence, mostly women, to be sentenced to longer jail sentences for failing to protect their children from abuse than the men who commit the abuse. Today, Cindy and Alexandra join the show to discuss the fight to reform these laws.
Guest
Alexandra Bailey, Domestic Violence Survivor and Advocate
Cindy Nguyen, Policy Director, Oklahoma ACLU
Resources:
SB 594: https://www3.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=sb594&Session=2500
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/oklahoma-failure-to-protect-kerry-king-dave-rader/
ACLU-OK Research/Stats for FTP:
Key Stories:
ACLU of Oklahoma
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Justin Murray about his recent law review article, Prosecutorial Reform and the Myth of Individualized Enforcement. On several past episodes, Hunter has explored the field of Progressive Prosecution. As he has uncovered, much of the push back to these types of prosecutors is their decision not to prosecute certain types of crimes. Today, Justin is here to show how that critique does not comport with the history of prosecution, and he asks us to rethink how we understand how Progressive Prosecution should/does operate in our society.
Guest
Justin Murray, Professor of Law, New York Law School
Resources:
Justin's Faculty Page
https://www.nyls.edu/faculty/justin-murray/
Law Review Article
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4932729
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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Resgitser for the ABA Public Defense Summit Here
https://events.americanbar.org/event/770bddad-346e-4f89-85f1-3e5b1d92b4ba/regProcessStep1
Today, Hunter spoke with Ann Block and Nithya Nathan-Pineau from the Immigrant Resource Legal Center to discuss the newest immigration related legislation, executive orders, and policies coming from the Trump administration. Starting with the Laken Riley act, Hunter, Ann, and Nithya walk through the ways in which the criminal and immigration legal systems are fusing together to target immigrants around the country.
Guest
Ann Block, Senior Staff Attorney, Immigrant Resource Legal Center
Nithya Nathan-Pineau, Policy Attorney and Strategist, Immigrant Resource Legal Center
Resources:
Contact IRLC
https://www.facebook.com/immigrantlegalresourcecenter
https://www.linkedin.com/company/immigrant-legal-resource-center
https://www.instagram.com/the_ilrc?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_ilrct=8mP0a8dAdtT&r=1
Laken Riley Act
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/5
https://www.ilrc.org/resources/laken-riley-act-juvenile-delinquency
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Laken_Riley
At Around 1Hour and 7 minutes, Hunter spoke about the motivations of Eric Adams to support Trump's immigration policy. At the time of the record, Eric Adams was still facing a criminal charge. As of Feb 10, the charges against Eric Adams were dropped. In the memo to drop the charges, DOJ officials brought up that the charges needed to be dropped so Eric Adams wouldn't be restricted in solving immigration in NYC.
https://apnews.com/article/eric-adams-indictment-109ef48bd49bc8adc1850709c99bf666
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/justice-department-moves-drop-case-new-york-city/story?id=118672417 (Dismissal Letter Found Here)
Original Charges
People being Sent to GTMO
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guantanamo-bay-migrants-trump/
https://migrantinsider.com/p/air-jordan-tattoo-prompts-ice-to
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Today, Hunter spoke with Professor Alexis Hoag-Fordjour about two of her most recent law review articles. In her first, she argues for a new way of thinking about how we evaluate claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. In her second article, she makes the case for why public defense should be universally applied.
Guest
Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, Professor of Law, Scholar in Residence, Co-Director Center for Criminal Justice, Brooklyn Law School
Resources:
Universal Public Defense
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5007431
Back to the Future: (Re)Constructing Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4772028
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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Resgitser for the ABA Public Defense Summit Here
https://events.americanbar.org/event/770bddad-346e-4f89-85f1-3e5b1d92b4ba/regProcessStep1
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Nikki Baszynski of the Wren Collective to talk about the Criminal Legal System in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This time, they discussed an update about youth representation in the county, and they also did a deep dive into how the county jail is denying prisoners in person visits and recording their conversations with family.
Guest
Nikki Baszynski, Principal, Wren Collective
Resources:
Wren Collective Report
https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_72700fa56eda43d78203966a3fbff476.pdf
Other Reporting on Cuyahoga County Jail Issues
https://signalcleveland.org/cuyahoga-county-jail-death-medical-care/
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Nikki Baszynski of the Wren Collective to talk about the Criminal Legal System in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. This time, they discussed an update about youth representation in the county, and they also did a deep dive into how the county jail is denying prisoners in person visits and recording their conversations with family.
Guest
Nikki Baszynski, Principal, Wren Collective
Resources:
Wren Collective Report
https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_72700fa56eda43d78203966a3fbff476.pdf
Other Reporting on Cuyahoga County Jail Issues
https://signalcleveland.org/cuyahoga-county-jail-death-medical-care/
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!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home
Resgitser for the ABA Public Defense Summit Here
https://events.americanbar.org/event/770bddad-346e-4f89-85f1-3e5b1d92b4ba/regProcessStep1
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Heather Cessna, the Executive Director of the Kansas Board of Indigents' Defense Services. This time, Hunter and Heather discuss how Kansas Public Defense could be close to collapsing due to a lack of lawyers and a legislature that has yet to properly address the issue.
Guest
Heather Cessna, Executive Director, Kansas Board of Indigents' Defense Services
Resources:
Contact KBDIS
Contact Heather
hcessna@sbids.org
Rural Justice Report
KBIDS Wellness Report
https://www.ksbids.gov/initiatives
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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@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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Register for the ABA Public Defender Summit Here
https://events.americanbar.org/event/770bddad-346e-4f89-85f1-3e5b1d92b4ba/regProcessStep1
Today, Hunter spoke once again with Rob Poggenklass and Bryan Kennady from Justice Forward Virginia. Last year, Justice Forward Virginia joined the show to discuss the 2024 criminal justice policies being floated in Virginia. Today, Rob and Bryan are here to discuss what the 2025 legislative session has in store for criminal justice reform in Virginia.
Guest
Rob Poggenklass, Executive Director, Justice Forward Virginia
Bryan Kennedy, Public Defender, Fairfax County, Treasurer, Justice Forward Virginia
Resources:
Justice Forward Virginia 2025 Legislative Priorities
https://justiceforwardva.com/blog/2024/12/13/2025-virginia-general-assembly-legislative-priorities
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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