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 is joined by Eric Tindal, a criminal defense attorney in Iowa. Today's discussion focuses on the question, how much evidence does it take to convict someone. Specifically, Hunter and Eric discussed how a single uncorroborated testimony can be sufficient to secure a conviction. This episode kicks off a miniseries comparing what evidence is perfectly fine for prosecutors to rely on and what evidence is barred from even being heard when the defense wants to use it.
Guests:
Eric Tindal, Criminal Defense Attorney, Iowa
Resources:
Email Eric
eric@keeganlegal.com
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by Lenora Easter, a candidate for the Public Defender position in Orange and Osceola Counties. As a former Bronx Defender and member of Partners for Justice, Lenora understands the importance of a holistic defense practice. In her adopted home of Orange and Osceola Counties, Lenora sees an absence of that holistic practice and a loud voice in the community as a short coming of the current Public Defender practice. By becoming the elected Public Defender for the circuit, Lenora hopes to inject Public Defense with a fresh slate of ideas, programs, and energy needed to revitalize Public Defense.
Guests:
Lenora Easter, Candidate for Public Defender of the 9th Judicial District, Orange and Osceola County, FL
Resources:
Lenora Easter Website
Lenora Easter Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lenoraeasterforpublicdefender/
Register to Vote Florida
https://registertovoteflorida.gov/home
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by two amazing guests from the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Vic Walczak and Veronica Miller join the show to discuss the newest ACLU lawsuit being brought against Pennsylvania for its failure to adequately fund public defense. As we heard last week on the show, things in Pennsylvania Public Defense are failing because of Pennsylvania utterly failing to meet its obligations as a state to fund Public Defense, but why sue now? After all, under Governor Shapiro, the state has allocated its first money towards Public Defense ever. As you will here today, this lawsuit has been a long time coming, and hopefully, with it will come the types of overhaul necessary to ensure the promise of Gideon is fulfilled in Pennsylvania.
Guests:
Vic Walczak, Legal Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania
Veronica Miller, Senior Policy Counsel for Criminal Legal Reform, ACLU of Pennsylvania
Resources:
ACLU of PA
Twitter: https://x.com/aclupa
Website: https://www.aclupa.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aclupa
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/aclupa
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aclupa/
Read more about the case: https://www.aclupa.org/en/defenders
UPenn Study: https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/16737-significant-public-defender-shortage
2011 Report: http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/resources/documents/ftp/publications/2011-265-indigent%20defense.pdf
Law Suit Against Luzerne County
https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/kuren-v-luzerne-county-formerly-flora-v-luzerne-county
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
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@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by journalist Andrew Pantazi to tell the story of Florida's worst Chief Public Defender, Matt Shirk. For more than a decade, Andrew and his colleagues have been covering the story of Shirk who served two terms as Jacksonville's elected public defender. During his time as the chief, Shirk oversaw a systemic practice of sexual harassment, drove out some his best attorneys and replaced them with his incompetent or unqualified friends, and attempted to get his juvenile client tried as an adult. Mercifully, Shirk was recently disbarred, but how did he come to this position, how did he stay there, why did it take so long for accountability to come, and ultimately, what does this say about public defense in Florida? All that and more in today's episode!
Guests:
Andrew Pantazi, Editor, The Tributary, Jacksonville, Florida
Resources:
Tributary Website
Follow Andrew on Twitter
https://x.com/apantazi?lang=en
Coverage of Matt Shirk
https://jaxtrib.org/2024/03/14/former-jacksonville-public-defender-matt-shirk-disbarred/
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/politics/2013/08/25/stub-295/15818394007/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by three Public Defenders from the state of Pennsylvania to get a feel for how Public Defense is fairing outside of the Philadelphia. Autumn Johnson, Sara Jacobson, and Samuel Encarnacion join the show to discuss what's happening in Mercer County, Lancaster County, and around the state. Recently, Pennsylvania dedicated its first ever state level funding for Public Defense, but is it too little too late? With a new ACLU lawsuit having just dropped, it will be interesting how the state responds to the crisis of Public Defense in Pennsylvania?
Guests:
Sara Jacobson, Executive Director, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania
Samuel Encarnacion, First Assistant Public Defender, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Autumn Johnson, Chief Public Defender, Mercer County, Pennsylvania
Resources:
UPenn Public Defender Study
https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/16737-significant-public-defender-shortage
PDAP
https://www.papublicdefenders.com/
Email Sara
sjacobson.pdap@gmail.com
Email Autumn
aljohnson@mercercountypa.gov
Email Sam
encarnas@lancastercountypa.gov
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by three members of the Bronx Defenders Union, Tyler Johnson, Katerine Azcona, and Marlene Marte. This episode comes on the heels of the Bronx Defenders Union authorizing a strike starting July 1. Over the past several months, the union and leadership have been unable to come to terms on a contract, and now, we could see the first strike in NY Public Defense since 1993. What is driving it? Why has the union reached this point? All that and more on today's episode!
Guests:
Tyler Johnson, Legal Advocate, Civil Action Practice, Bronx Defenders
Marlene Marte, Immigration Legal Advocate, Bronx Defenders
Katherine Azcona, Staff Attorney, Family Defense, Bronx Defenders
Resources:
BxD Union Twitter
https://x.com/BxDUnion?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
BxD Union Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/bxdunion/?hl=en
If you'd like to support the Bronx Defender's Union while they strike, you can donate here
https://givebutter.com/communitystrikefund
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by Brooke Burns and Angela Chang, two Ohio Public Defenders working tirelessly to stop the return of the "Super Predator" myth. Over the past 40 years, the language has changed, but the outcome has remained the same: our communities have responded to real and perceived rises in crime by policing and incarcerating certain groups of young people. That practice is alive and well in Ohio, but with the work of people like Brooke and Angela, communities have a shot at creating accountability systems for kids that do not rely on the criminal legal system.
Guests:
Angela Chang, Director of Youth Defense Division, Hamilton County, Ohio
Brooke Burns, Managing Counsel, Youth Defense, Ohio Public Defender
Resources:
Ohio Office of the Public Defender
Hamilton County Public Defender
https://www.hamiltoncountypd.org/
https://www.instagram.com/hamcopubdef/?locale=kk-KZ
Coverage of the Killing of Tavion Koonce-Williams
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter sat down for a powerful conversation with Scarlett Lewis. Scarlett's son Jesse Lewis was one of the children murdered in the Sandy Hook school shooting. In the wake of this tragedy, Scarlett grappled with the grief, sadness, and anger that any person would face. Yet, Scarlett wanted to choose a different path than anger. So Scarlett founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement with the goal of teaching children social-emotional learning strategies to try and address violence at its roots.
Guests:
Scarlett Lewis, Founder, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
Resources:
Choose Love Movement Socials
https://chooselovemovement.org/
https://www.facebook.com/JLChooseLove
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jesse-lewis-choose-love-foundation/
https://www.instagram.com/chooselovemovement/
https://www.youtube.com/user/chooselovefoundation
Contact Scarlett
https://x.com/scarlettmlewis?lang=en
A GOP Texas school board member campaigned against schools indoctrinating kids. Then she read the curriculum.https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter is joined by Chesa Boudin, the former District Attorney of San Francisco, to discuss his transition from public defender to prosecutor and the challenges he faced in trying to make systemic change. He shares examples of cases where he felt limited in his ability to create meaningful impact as a public defender, leading him to pursue a career in prosecution. Boudin also discusses the difficulties of implementing progressive policies within a prosecutor's office, including the resistance from the old guard and the limitations imposed by labor rules. They highlight how police departments and unions can undermine democracy at the local level and the challenges faced by progressive prosecutors. The discussion also touches on the difficulty of messaging and getting voters on board with criminal justice reform.
Guests:
Chesa Boudin, Executive Director, Criminal Law and Justice Center, Berkley Law
Resources:
Chesa's Faculty Page
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/chesa-boudin/
Follow Chesa on Twitter
https://x.com/chesaboudin?lang=en
Eric Salwell on Prosecutors
Reports on Crime in California
https://www.cjcj.org/reports-publications?page=4
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
Today, Hunter sat down with Eric Whitcher, Director of the Pennington County Public Defender Office. Until recently, South Dakota and Pennsylvania shared the inglorious distinction of being the last two states in the country to provide 0 dollars towards public defense at the state level. Finally after years of advocacy, it appears South Dakota is about to change that. Eric joins the show to discuss the statewide commission that is primed to start a massive overhaul of the Public Defense delivery in the state.
Guests:
Eric Whitcher, Director, Pennington County Public Defense, South Dakota
Resources:
Pennington County Public Defender Website
Eric's Linked in
https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-whitcher-07b9aa295?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
HB 1057
https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24943
Task Force Report
https://ujs.sd.gov/uploads/committees/Indigent/ILSTaskForceFinalReportRecommendations.pdf
Contact Hunter Parnell:
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
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*As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*
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