Today, Hunter is once again joined by James McDermott and Paul Chambers from the Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Office. This time, James and Paul are discussing how they utilized the new National Workload study to double their attorney staff. While the use of data was extremely important into winning over county commissioners, James’ and Paul’s willingness to let the system fail proved to be the catalyst in securing more funding.

Guests:

James McDermott, Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender          

Paul Chambers, Deputy Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender

Resources:

National Workload Study

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2559-1.html

Far West Texas Regional Public Defender

https://far-west-texas-regional-public-defender.business.site/

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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www.publicdefenseless.com 

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www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast

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Today, Hunter sat down with Jessica Brand, the found of the Wren Collective, to discuss their recent report about the death penalty in Harris County, Texas. For decades, Harris County used the death penalty more than anywhere in the world, but unlike many places, it did not use full time public defenders for these cases. Instead, they used court appointed counsel, and the results of that representation model have been stunningly bad.

Guests:

Jessica Brand, Founder, Wren Collective

Resources:

Contact the Wren Collective

https://www.wrencollective.org/contact-3

Death by Design Part 1

https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_fd475c291d07486188088f0d5c2ffa33.pdf

Death By Design Part 2

https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_cd056b2be4634f3e9410053388c79bfe.pdf

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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www.publicdefenseless.com 

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In a follow up to our episode on Operation Lone Star, Hunter is joined by UC Davis Law Professor Eric Fish to discuss his recent law review article, “Resisting Mass Immigration Prosecutions.” On our previous OLS episode, we discussed the many ways the state of Texas has stacked the deck in its favor, making it extremely difficult for PDs to get anything close to a “win.” Yet, OLS is not the first mass immigration prosecution scheme, and today’s episode is about understanding the lessons we can learn from Eric, the other PDs, and the criminal defense attorneys in San Diego who got amazing wins against Operation Streamline.

Guests:

Eric Fish, Former Federal Public Defender and Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law

Resources:

Law Review Article

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4659514

History of Operation Streamline

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Operation_Streamline_Policy_Brief.pdf

Contact Eric

https://law.ucdavis.edu/people/eric-fish

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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Today, Hunter is once again joined by James McDermott and Paul Chambers from the Far West Texas Regional Public Defender Office. This time, James and Paul are discussing how they utilized the new National Workload study to double their attorney staff. While the use of data was extremely important into winning over county commissioners, James’ and Paul’s willingness to let the system fail proved to be the catalyst in securing more funding.

Guests:

James McDermott, Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender          

Paul Chambers, Deputy Chief Public Defender, Far West Texas Regional Public Defender

Resources:

National Workload Study

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2559-1.html

Far West Texas Regional Public Defender

https://far-west-texas-regional-public-defender.business.site/

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

Twitter                                                                

@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast

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(AUDIO CORRECTED)

Following years of intense advocacy in the state house, a robust coalition of people in Illinois were successfully able to abolish cash bail with the SAFE-T Act. For the tough on crime crowd, this law would turn Illinois into “the Purge.” Anarchy would claim the streets and the entire state would become lawless….but did that actually happen? Joining Hunter today are Celeste Korando, the Chief Public Defender of Jackson County Illinois, Sharlyn Grace, the Senior Policy Advisor at the Cook County Public Defender, and Victoria Kerr, former Public Defender and current Private Defense Counsel in Central IL, to talk about the good, the bad, and the truth of the SAFE-T Act.  

Guests:

Celeste Korando, Chief Public Defender, Jackson County, Illinois

Sharlyn Grace, Senior Policy Advisor, Cook County Public Defender

Victoria Kerr, Criminal Defense Attorney, Central Illinois

Resources:

SAFE-T Act

https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/cash-bail-changes-2023-safe-t-act#:~:text=In%20July%202023%2C%20the%20Illinois,system%20and%20what%20it%20means.

https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/the-illinois-supreme-court-cash-bail-ruling-explained

https://eji.org/news/illinois-becomes-first-state-to-abolish-cash-bail/

https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/09/14/no-there-is-no-purge-law-in-illinois-here-are-the-facts-about-ending-cash-bail/

  https://pretrialfairness.org/

Bad Faith Reactions to the Law

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/the-end-of-cash-bail-is-not-a-purge-law-in-illinois-heres-what-you-need-to-know/2981549/#:~:text=Some%20on%20social%20media%20have%20dubbed%20it%20a%20so%2Dcalled,Pritzker%20have%20said%20is%20false.

https://myfox8.com/news/is-a-purge-law-coming-to-illinois/

Flow Chart

https://ilcourtsaudio.blob.core.windows.net/antilles-resources/resources/b3d911ef-bd4e-4263-b86b-0b16fe032ac9/Pretrial%20Fairness%20Act%20Release%20by%20Citation%20Flowchart%20and%20Implementation%20Considerations.pdf

Contact Sharlyn

https://www.cookcountypublicdefender.org/locations-contact/find-public-defender/grace-sharlyn

https://twitter.com/SharlynDGrace

Contact Celeste

https://twitter.com/CelesteKorando

https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-korando-ba327a3b

Contact Victoria

[email protected]

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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In 2021, the Washington Supreme handed down one of the most important rulings in the history of the state. For decades, people in Washington were convicted under the state’s felony drug possession law without any requirement they had knowledge of the drugs they possessed. The court struck down this strict liability law and opened the door for hundreds of thousands of people to be released, resentenced, or have their case vacated. Today, Hunter spoke with Grace O’Connor, Nat Jacob, and Kimonti Carter, the team at the Washington Office of Public Defense, who work on helping people navigate their options in the wake of Blake v State.

Guests:

Grace O’Connor, Former Blake Managing Defense Attorney, Washington Office of Public Defense

Nat Jacob, Blake Triage Attorney, Washington Office of Public Defense

Kimonti Carter, Blake Community Outreach Specialist, Washington Office of Public Defense

Resources:

Blake v State

https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/968730.pdf

Contact the Blake Team

Call 800-414-6064 (ext 218)

Email [email protected]

How to Vacate Conviction

https://opd.wa.gov/find-legal-help-and-information/vacate-drug-possession-convictions-state-v-blake

Since I Been Down

https://www.sinceibeendown.com/

https://www.kimonticarter.com/teach

Redemption Project of Washington

https://www.redemptionwa.org/

Seattle Clemency Project

https://www.seattleclemencyproject.org/

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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Today, Hunter spoke with Taylor Six, a journalist at the Lexington Harold Leader in Kentucky, to discuss her expansive coverage of the criminal legal system in the state. From a system that is almost devoid of all trials to accusations of racial bias in local prosecutors, Taylor is doing amazing work bringing to light the criminal legal stories that help drive better criminal legal policies.

Guests:

Taylor Six, Journalist, Lexington Harold Leader, Kentucky

Resources:

judge tossed a murder charge

prosecutor's response

Follow up on Racial Bias Accusation from Judge

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article284296008.html

Case of Lasielle White

Here is how her case ended.

Teen linked to Fatal Shooting Gets Probation

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article275460956.html#storylink=cpy

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article281033483.html 

Plea Deal Story

https://www.kentucky.com/news/local/crime/article278980039.html

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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The protections of the Constitution are meant to apply to all Americans regardless of their status, but for those who are incarcerated, courts have systematically denied, abused, or ignored those protections. Today, Hunter is once again joined by Kaelen Perrochet, a UCLA law student and two-time previous guest, to take a look at the various rights prisoner’s simply don’t have. From denial of healthcare and safety to no access to courts or counsel, this episode is a reminder that courts have and continue to determine who should rights based simply on who they are.

Guests:

Kaelen Perrochet, UCLA Law Student,

Resources:

Singer v Raemisch

https://casetext.com/case/singer-v-raemisch

Lewis v Casey

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/94-1511.ZO.html

Estelle v Gamble

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/429/97

Farmer v Brennan

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-7247.ZS.html

Brown v Plata

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/09-1233.ZO.html

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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Today, Hunter is continuing his coverage of public defense in Texas by speaking with former Executive Director of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission and current Executive Director of the Texas Fair Defense Project, Geoff Burkhart. Under his leadership, there was a massive expansion of institutional public defender offices around Texas, but it happened in an extremely unorthodox manner. Normally, public defender offices spring up in the urban areas and slowly make their way to the more rural parts of the state, but in Texas, that model has been a bit backwards. With the grant money TIDC provided, rural communities jumped at the chance to have institutional public defender offices, while some large metro areas (Tarrant County in particular) still relied on a contract base private attorney system. Why that happened, what Geoff learned, and why he left TIDC to work at the Fair Defense Project are just a few of the topics explored on today’s episode!

Guests:

Geoff Burkhart, Executive Director, Texas Fair Defense Project

Resources:

Texas Fair Defense Project

https://www.fairdefense.org/

Texas Indigent Defense Commission

https://www.tidc.texas.gov/

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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Today, Hunter sat down with Kimberly Simmons, Executive Director, and Jamie Spencer, managing attorney, at the Texas Rio Grande Public Defender to discuss their role in fighting against the mass immigration prosecutions of Operation Lone Star. Despite immigration policy falling under the exclusive control of the federal government, Texas started OLS after it determined not enough was being done to arrest and deport migrants in the country illegally. As with most tough on crime immigration policies, the goal of OLS is to make the deportation of people go as quickly as possible, without much regard for due process or the treatment of those being detained. This episode highlights the importance of the public defense in stopping states from railroading people through our broken immigration system.  

Guests:

Kimberly Simmons, Executive Director, Texas Rio Grande Public Defender

Jamie Spencer, Managing Attorney, Texas Rio Grande Public Defender

Resources:

TRGPD

https://www.trgpd.org/ 

Operation Lone Star

https://www.tidc.texas.gov/operation-lone-star/

https://www.texastribune.org/series/operation-lone-star/

https://www.tpr.org/border-immigration/2024-01-11/gov-abbotts-operation-lone-star-seized-control-of-a-public-park-on-the-border-overnight-residents-protest

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/01/03/texas-senate-bill-4-illegal-immigration-justice-department-lawsuit/

Contact Hunter Parnell:                                

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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