Senate Republicans have attacked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson for her past public defense work. How have defense attorneys elicited criticism and praise through American history? Why is the right to counsel so important to democracy? 

Heather and Joanne discuss past moments of transition for legal counsel, from John Adams’s representation of British soldiers implicated in the Boston Massacre, to Clarence Darrow’s plea for the lives of Leopold and Loeb, to the impact of the 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright. 

Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. Head to: cafe.com/history

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For references & supplemental materials, head to: cafe.com/now-and-then/ketanji-brown-jackson-criminal-justice-public-defense

Now & Then is presented by CAFE and the Vox Media Podcast Network.

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