Public Defenseless

Anyone 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. Like so many of you, Hunter is not an attorney, simply tired of a news cycle and talking heads that offer no real solutions to the ever-growing list of problems we face. Hunter hopes that with this information, you will share his belief that ordinary people still can make a difference.

361 | How a New Bail Law and Immigration Enforcement is Impacting Public Defense in Charleston, South Carolina w/Cameron Blazer 06/03/2025

360 | Is There a Better Way to Teach Criminal Law Part II w/Andrew Crespo 05/29/2025

359 | Is There a Better Way to Teach Criminal Law? Part I w/Alice Ristroph 05/27/2025

358 | Why has the San Francisco Public Defender Stopped Taking New Cases One Day a Week? w/Mano Raju 05/23/2025

357 | Why are Minnesota Public Defenders Trying to Form an Independent Union? w/Bob Kolstad, Maggie Bott, Olivia Henstein 05/22/2025

356 | How the Chief Public Defender of Louisiana is Retaliating Against Public Defenders who Oppose his Power Grab w/Jim Boren 05/20/2025

355 | How Missouri Public Defenders are Leading the Nation In Statewide Holistic Defender Services w/Missouri Public Defenders 05/15/2025

354 | With so Many Good Things Happening in Massachusetts, When Will Public Defenders Finally Get They Pay Raises they Deserve? w/Anthony Benedetti 05/13/2025

353 | After 18 Years in Prison, How One Man is Still Fighting to Prove his Innocence w/Ivery Dorsey 05/08/2025

352 | How Public Defense in Harris County Texas Evolved from a Contract System to a Holistic One w/Alex Bunin 05/06/2025

351 | How Flat-Fee Contracts Undermine the Right to Counsel in California w/Josh Schwartz 05/01/2025

350 | The Tech Company Helping Public Defenders Track and Exploit Police Misconduct w/Julie Ciccolini 04/29/2025

349 | The ACLU Lawsuit Helping to Radically Reimagine Public Defense in Maine w/Zachary Heiden, Carol Garvan, and Eve Primus 04/24/2025

RE-RELEASE: Secrets of the Killing State: How the Truth of Lethal Injection Could End the Death Penalty w/Corinna Lain 04/23/2025

348 | How Prosecutors, Cops, and an ICE Agent Conspired to Kidnap a Man in the Middle of his Trial w/Murat Erkan 04/22/2025

347 | How Participatory Defense has and can help Minnesota Public Defenders w/Damon Drake 04/17/2025

346 | The Revival of Public Defense in Santa Cruz County California w/Heather Rogers and Caitlin Becker 04/15/2025

346 | The Revival of Public Defense in Santa Cruz County California w/Heather Rogers and Caitlin Becker Today, Hunter spoke with Heather Rogers and Caitlin Becker of the Santa Cruz County Public Defenders. In 2020, the Sixth Amendment Center put together a report detailing the severe issues with how Santa Cruz County provided Public Defense. At the time, a law firm was working a flat rate fee contract to provide public defender services in the county. As is expected, that system was deeply flawed and couldn’t meet the demands of the Sixth Amendment. Fast forward five years, Heather, Caitlin, and the team at the Santa Cruz County Public Defender has transformed the office into a comprehensive holistic defender program. How did that happen? What are the benefits of this model? All those questions and more on today’s episode! Guest Heather Rogers, The Public Defender, Santa Cruz County, California Caitlin Becker, Director of Holistic Defense, Santa Cruz County, California Resources: Read the 6AC Report Here Contact Santa Cruz County Public Defenders Here Contact Hunter Parnell: @PublicDefenselessPodcast @PDefenselessPod Subscribe to the Patron Donate on PayPal Donate on Stripe Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! Guest Heather Rogers, The Public Defender, Santa Cruz County, California Caitlin Becker, Director of Holistic Defense, Santa Cruz County, California Resources: Read the 6AC Report Here Contact Santa Cruz County Public Defenders Here Contact Hunter Parnell: @PublicDefenselessPodcast @PDefenselessPod Subscribe to the Patron Donate on PayPal Donate on Stripe Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! /episode/index/show/publicdefenseless/id/35963435

345 | Will Governor Jeff Landry's Push to Execute More People get an Innocent Man Killed? w/Piper French 04/10/2025

344 | When Public Defenders Support Community Organizing, Community will Organize to Support Public Defense w/Heather Lewis 04/08/2025

343 | How the Neglect and Indifference of the Jefferson County Jail Killed a 76 Year Old Man Suffering from Parkinson's and Dementia w/Darold Killmer and Maddie Lips 04/03/2025

342 | What was Revealed about the Death Penalty When a Man on Death Row Volunteered to be Executed? w/Gianna Toboni 04/01/2025

341 | Why did a Judge Stop a Defense Lawyer from Showing the Jury the Complaining Witness's Habit of Fabricating Evidence w/Blake Weiner 03/27/2025

340 | The Amendment to Louisiana's Constitution that is Trying to Make it Easier to Send Kids to Angola Prison w/Kristen Rome 03/25/2025

339 | Did One Woman Coerce her Foster Kids into Wrongfully Accusing their Family of Sexual Abuse? w/Amy Parker 03/20/2025

338 | How Trump is Using the Alien Enemies Act to Destroy Due Process Protections w/Nayna Gupta 03/18/2025

337 | How Does Silicon Valley De-Bug San Mateo Hope to Improve Public Defense and the Criminal Legal System w/Ana Ramirez Zarate and Lourdes Best 03/13/2025

336 | How the San Mateo Private Defender Program is Trying to Earn Back the Community's Trust w/Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra 03/11/2025

336 | How the San Mateo Private Defender Program is Trying to Earn Back the Community's Trust w/Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra Today, Hunter spoke with Lisa Maguire and Harpreet Samra of the San Mateo County Private Defender Program. Unlike the normal contract Public Defender model, the PDP operates as a managed assigned counsel system. As the Chief Defender, Lisa, manages a group of private contractors who handle the Public Defender needs of the county. This grants here significantly more oversight than in a traditional Private Defender System. Harpreet is the lead for the PDP’s Social Worker program, and she ensures attorneys connect with Social Workers in their cases. From each of their areas of expertise, Lisa and Harpreet are working to correct the issues documented with PDP over the years. While their work has the PDP moving in a positive direction, the presence of flat rate fee compensation and the fall out from a series of insulting, racist emails sent by former PDP members leave Lisa and Harpreet with an ongoing battle to earn the trust back of the community they serve. Guest Lisa Maguire, Chief Defender, Private Defender Program, San Mateo County, CA Harpreet Samra, Social Worker Lead, Private Defender Program, San Mateo County, CA Resources: Contact Lisa and Harpreet PDP Website Past Reports on San Mateo Emails About Silicon Valley De-Bug *** Note on the Episode**** Following my conversation with Lisa and Harpreet flat rate fees in the PDP, Lisa informed me that the Office of the State Public Defender in California released Standards for Contract Panels. They discourage any flat fee compensation. As a result, Lisa will now be working with the county to move away from the flat rate fees towards an all-hourly compensation rate. New Standards Can be Found Here Contact Hunter Parnell: @PublicDefenselessPodcast @PDefenselessPod Subscribe to the Patron Donate on PayPal Donate on Stripe Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! /episode/index/show/publicdefenseless/id/35599720

335 | How Sec Def Austin Interfered with the 9/11 and U.S.S. Cole Case Plea Deals w/Allison Miller and Katie Carmon 03/06/2025

334 | Was a Former Colorado Public Defender Fired for Raising Concerns over his Workload? w/Travis Weiner 03/04/2025

334 | Was a Former Colorado Public Defender Fired for Raising Concerns over his Workload? w/Travis Weiner Today, Hunter spoke with Travis Weiner the former Colorado Public Defender suing the State Public Defender for wrongful termination. As a Colorado Public Defender, Travis reached a point where he estimated he would need more than 4,000 hours to complete the cases assigned to him. At that point, Travis believed he had an ethical obligation to withdraw from a newly assigned case. Unfortunately, the Colorado State Public Defender did not support him. Instead, they fired him. Now he is suing the state for alleged retaliation. Guest Travis Weiner, Former Colorado State Public Defender and Current Public Defender, Taos, New Mexico Resources: Articles about Travis’s Law Suit Read Travis’s Motion, Compliant and My Complaint and Affidavit Here: I have reached out for comment from OSPD in regards to Travis and my complaints. At this time, OSPD did not respond for comment. Last year, they sent me the following comment on Travis's complaint "On behalf of OSPD, thank you for the invitation and concern regarding public defense in Colorado. Rules governing confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and employee privacy prevent us from discussing individual cases, particular motions, or a defender’s practice. We are committed to ensuring that our clients receive high quality representation and will continue to support the defenders who do that work." Contact Hunter Parnell: @PublicDefenselessPodcast @PDefenselessPod Subscribe to the Patron Donate on PayPal Donate on Stripe Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! /episode/index/show/publicdefenseless/id/35488460

333 | How The American Eugenics Movement Helped Create Habitual Offender Laws w/Daniel Loehr 02/27/2025

Public Defenseless

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