Despite being the bedrock of our criminal legal system, “the jury trial is an exceptional rather than a commonplace outcome.” Today, Hunter is joined by Martin Sabelli and Nathan Pysno to discuss somethings leading to the erosion of the jury trial. Specifically, they discuss how harsh sentences enable coercive plea bargaining and enshrine the “trial penalty”. Few if any other Constitutionally protected rights lead to a person being punished for using them, but the trial penalty is nothing more than punishing people for forcing the government to prove a person committed a crime at trial.

Guests:

Martin Sabelli, Former President of NACDL and Criminal Defense Attorney

Nathan Pysno, Director of Economic Crime and Procedural Justice, NACDL

Resources:

ABA Report on Jury Trials Disappearing

https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2020/12/report-jury-trials/

ABA Plea Bargaining Task Force Report

https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/criminaljustice/plea-bargain-tf-report.pdf

NACDL Trial Penalty

https://www.nacdl.org/Document/TrialPenaltySixthAmendmentRighttoTrialNearExtinct

End the Trial Penalty

https://www.endthetrialpenalty.org/#:~:text=Who%20We%20Are,achieving%20a%20truly%20just%20society.&text=Embedded%20Player%20Advocates%20say%20defendants,a%20so%2Dcalled%20trial%20penalty.

Contact Hunter Parnell:

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In the past few weeks, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decided to abuse his powers once again as the head of state and remove an elected State Attorney. This time, the 9th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell landed in Governor DeSantis’ cross hairs. Today, Hunter is joined by Central Florida Criminal Defense Attorney Andrew Darling to discuss what happened. If you take the story that Governor DeSantis proclaims on face value, you could be led to believe that Worrell was a rouge prosecutor allowing crime to go unpunished. As Andrew points out however, Worrell was a moderately progressive prosecutor who’s biggest deviation from the norm was wanting to pursue rehabilitation for youthful offenders, keeping low level drug offenses in diversionary programs, and a willingness to pursue cases against Police for their abuse of power.

Guests:

Andrew Darling, Criminal Defense Attorney, Central Florida

Resources:

Gov DeSantis’ Executive Order Removing State Attorney Monique Worrell

https://www.flgov.com/2023/08/09/governor-ron-desantis-suspends-state-attorney-monique-worrell-for-neglect-of-duty-and-incompetence/

Twitter Thread Explaining the Falsities in Gov DeSantis’ Claims

https://twitter.com/LutherEvers/status/1689672379776073728

Warren v. DeSantis

https://casetext.com/case/warren-v-desantis-1

Follow Andrew on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrDarling4

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrdarling4/

Darling Law: https://darlinglaw.com/

Orange County Court of Clerks 2023CF003924-A-O

https://www.myorangeclerk.com/

Indictment of Orange County Deputy Bruce Stolk

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2022/04/01/orange-county-deputy-indicted-nearly-2-years-after-shooting-man-during-chase/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected] 

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Trust between Public Defenders and the communities they serve has been a long running theme of the show. The benefits of such a trusting relationship seem obvious, but today, Hunter spoke with Wisconsin Public Defender, Alexander Kostal, to discuss an extremely important outcome from a trusting attorney/client relationship: increased opportunity for litigation. In order to push back against the overreaches of police and prosecutors, cases need to be heard in an open court room, but what if the client does not trust you to take it that far? How do you earn back that trust? What can institutions in public defense do to try and make it easier for communities to trust Public Defenders? All this and more explored on today’s episode!

Guests:

Alexander Kostal, Assistant State Public Defender, Wisconsin

Resources:

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected] 

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www.publicdefenseless.com 

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In back-to-back years, the Sixth Amendment Center revealed that Public Defense in Detroit was failing. Both the contract and institutional Public Defender were failing to provide competent counsel in every case. For the largest city in Michigan, the future seemed dire. Then, the Neighborhood Defender Services extended their non-profit Public Defender Model to the city, and for the first time in a long time, there was a glimmer of hope for holistic defense in Detroit. Joining Hunter to speak about the challenges, trials, and hope for a better future for Detroit Public Defense is Cait De Mott Grady, Jonathan Roberts, and Tom Molina-Durate from the NDS Detroit Union. As with most union episodes, the demands of the union are similar: better pay for core staff and meaningful restrictions on workload. Hopefully, the contract negotiations will support the struggling workers of NDS Detroit and provide a spark for the continued improvement of Public Defense in Detroit.  

Guests:

Cait De Mott Grady, Staff Attorney and Union Member, NDS Detroit

Jonathan Roberts, Staff Attorney and Union Member, NDS Detroit

Tom Molina-Duarte, Social Worker and Union Member, NDS Detroit

Resources:

NDS Detroit

https://neighborhooddefender.org/locations/detroit/

Sixth Amendment Center Wayne County Reports

https://sixthamendment.org/wayne-county-report/

https://sixthamendment.org/wayne-county-report-2019/

Follow the Union on Twitter

https://twitter.com/NDSUnion

Follow the Union on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/ndsunion/

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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Recently, Hunter was a guest host on the Another Not Guilty Podcast, and he is happy to share that episode today as a bonus show!

The Another Not Guilty Podcast details true crime's forbidden stories of the criminal system from the insiders' perspective of public defenders told with a little humor, drama, and passion for criminal justice reform. Visit them at www.anothernotguiltypod.com

 In this week's episode we have Hunter Parnell from the Public Defenseless podcast as a co-host.  And also our guest PD is Hillary from Salt Lake City who shares her story of walking her client out the front door on a murder charge stemming from when he was 16 years old and being in the car when the driver shot and killed someone and blamed him.

You subscribe to Another Not Guilty Podcast on 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5TxGjq1zzMh5F6bHG8wvEE

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/murder-ring-the-prosecutions-theory/id1395439829?i=1000625073790

Or Follow them on 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnotherNG_pod

Sometimes referred to as Civil Asset Forfeiture, today’s episode is an examination of the legalized theft that is civil forfeiture. Joining Hunter to unpack the intricacies of this topic, is Dan Alban. In his role at the Institute for Justice, Dan is one of the people at the forefront of people pushing back against the practice that flips the concept of innocent until proven guilty on its head. As you will hear on this episode, the complex legal nature of this topic masks a process that most Americans, when exposed to it, will viciously oppose.

Guests:

Dan Alban, Senior Attorney at the Institute for Justice/Co-Director of the Campaign to end Forfeiture Abuse

Resources:

Richardson v. $20,771.00 U.S. Currency

https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Initial-Brief-of-Respondents-FINAL-TO-FILE-07.15.20-IJ115663xA6322.pdf

More on Richardson Case

https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-3/pfp3content/evidence-suggests-forfeiture-doesnt-work/south-carolina-high-court-weighs-forfeiture-and-the-constitution/

Policing for Profit Report

https://ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-3/

End Forfeiture Abuse

https://endforfeiture.com/

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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Whether you call it Jury Nullification or Conscientious Acquittal, today’s episode is all about the fight to reinvigorate the jury trial and the independence of the jury. Joining Hunter to discuss is Clark Neily, Senior VP for Legal Studies at the CATO Institute. Before America was even a country, the power of a jury to acquit someone of a charge they were legally guilty of because the jury disagree with the law as applied in this case was unquestioned. Over time however, prosecutors and judges pushed for and enabled the gradual erosion of the juries power. Now, more than 250 years after the founding, the jury trial is little more than a relic of the past, and even a whisper of jury independence in a court room can get jurors removed from a case. How did this happen and what can be done to reverse this trend? Find out by listening to today’s episode!

Guests:

Clark Neily, Senior Vice President for Legal Studies, CATO Institute

Resources:

Trial of John Peter Zenger

https://www.ushistory.org/us/7c.asp

Follow Clark on Twitter (not calling it X not even if there is a fire)

https://twitter.com/conlawwarrior/with_replies

CATO Jury Independence

https://www.cato.org/policy-report/january/february-2014/historical-look-power-jury-independence#:~:text=Recently%20re%20released%20by%20the,abused%2C%20as%20has%20all%20power.

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A little less than a year ago, Hunter spoke with Alexandra Bailey of the Sentencing Project to explore why states like Oklahoma so readily punish the survivors of domestic violence. Today, Hunter returns to Oklahoma to speak with Colleen McCarty and Leslie Briggs from Oklahoma Appleseed to discuss their work in trying to push back against the expansion of the carceral state in Oklahoma. In particular, this conversation centers in large part about the Wrongful Conviction of April Wilkens. With their podcast “Panic Button” Colleen, Leslie and all of Appleseed hope to expose the injustice in April’s case, but also hope people realize that April is one of many women who face the power of the carceral state who are survivors of domestic violence.  

Guests:

Colleen McCarty, Founding Executive Director, Oklahoma Appleseed

Leslie Briggs, Legal Director, Oklahoma Appleseed

Resources:

Visit OK Appleseed

https://okappleseed.org/

Follow OK Appleseed on:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OKAppleseedCenter/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ok_appleseed

Twitter https://twitter.com/OK_Appleseed

Listen to the Panic Button Podcast

https://panicbuttontheaprilwilkenscase.podbean.com/

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/panic-button/id1630829857

Oklahoma Bill to Help Domestic Violence Survivors

https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2023/03/oklahoma-lawmakers-are-watering-down-a-bill-thats-supposed-to-help-domestic-violence-survivors/

https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/local-regional/2023-07-03/it-was-unfair-the-push-for-retroactive-criminal-justice-for-domestic-violence-victims-who-killed-their-abusers

Oklahoma School Superintendent no China in Schools

https://www.thedailybeast.com/oklahoma-schools-boss-ryan-walters-goes-around-the-bend-with-new-conspiracy-theory

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected] 

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com 

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www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast

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In the state of Georgia, the Public Defender Counsel lacks independence from the Executive Branch. As a result, their ability to speak out on social issues is severely limited. For former Georgia Public Defender Devin Franklin, the inability to speak out against police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd drove him out of a decade long career in Public Defense. For him, and for Hunter, the advocacy of a Public Defender cannot end in the four walls of the court room. Tune in to today's conversation to hear about the Fulton County Jail, Cop City, and what the Public Defender Council of Georgia should be doing to call out these injustices

Guests:

Devin Franklin, Movement Policy Counsel, Southern Center for Human Rights

Resources:

 Southern Center for Human Rights

https://www.schr.org/

Follow Devin  on Twitter

https://twitter.com/BrotherInLawATL

Timeline of Cop City

https://scalawagmagazine.org/2023/05/cop-city-atlanta-history-timeline/

Autopsy of activist, Manuel Paez Teran , killed at Cop City

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-cop-city-manuel-paez-teran-autopsy/

DOJ investigates Fulton County Jail

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/doj-investigation-fulton-county-jail-inmate-death-other-reports

Deaths in Fulton County Jail

https://theappeal.org/fulton-county-jail-deaths-spiked-2022-pad-funding/

Inside Fulton County Jail

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/great-reads/the-real-behind-the-wall-a-look-inside-the-infamous-deadly-fulton-county-jail/

Register for the SCHR Pain and Power: Confronting Police Violence in Atlanta Seminar August 19th at The King Center 449 Auburn Avenue Northeast Atlanta, GA 30312

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pain-power-confronting-police-violence-in-atlanta-tickets-673749441717?aff=oddtdtcreator

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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Crushing workloads. High Turnover Rates. Low Pay. This is not the first time these topics have been brought up on the show, but today, Hunter spoke with two Maryland Public Defenders, Edie Fortuna and Jose Teneza, to discuss how those factors drove the Public Defenders to unionize.

Guests:

Edie Fortuna, Assistant Public Defender, Maryland

Jose Teneza, Assistant Public Defender, Maryland

Resources:

Prepare Parole Maryland

https://prepare-parole.org/

Maryland Public Defender

https://www.opd.state.md.us/

Annual Reports

https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/61pubdr.html

2005 National Center for State Courts Workload Report

https://silo.tips/download/maryland-attorney-and-staff-workload-assessment-2005

 Listen to Jose's Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watch-skip/id1640540726

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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