The Missouri public defense system has been shaped by lawsuits that the ACLU has brought forth. 

Meet Anthony Rothert, one of the individuals behind those lawsuits.

Anthony is the Director of Integrated Advocacy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri and is here today to give you the inside scoop on the cases.

You’ll learn the ins and outs of the indigent system in this state, from long wait times to high public defender turnover rates.

This episode will leave you with renewed hope that there are people out there working tirelessly to positively change the system for good. 

Key Topics and Takeaways:

• Anthony’s role in the Missouri criminal justice system and the history of public defense in the state. [4:52]
• How public defender turnover affects indigent clients. [9:32]
• Public defense legislative history in the state. [12:27]
• Ethical dilemmas in the Missouri indigent system. [19:52]
• Anthony dives deep into the class-action lawsuits against the state of Missouri. [32:06]
• Indigent wait times in Missouri. [37:56]
• Goals for the future. [43:03]
• Progressive prosecutors. [50:04]

Guest:

Anthony Rothert, Director of Integrated Advocacy, American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri

Resources:

ACLU of Missouri 

 2009 Spangenberg Report

1993 Spangenberg Group Report 

2005 Spagenberg Group Report 

Michael Barret Letter to Gov Nixon 

2014 ABA Missouri Workload Study

Memorable Quotes:

“Part of the reason attorneys leave is they’re overworked, they are not satisfied by their work because they don’t have time to do as good a job as they would like. And they’re not even paid well for it.” (15:24, Anthony)

“Defendants are faced with a choice. You can proceed without counsel, or you can wait.” (38:57, Anthony)

“We will be asking the court to enter a judgment in the case requiring the state to provide enough money so we don’t have waitlists.” (42:02, Anthony)

“We could decriminalize things. That would solve a lot.” (44:11, Anthony)

“It’s easy to say that the far-off bad guy is not good. But then when you work with attorneys who work in these offices, you realize, okay, they’re doing their job, which is to protect constitutional rights for individuals.” (48:09, Hunter)

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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www.publicdefenseless.com