Today, Hunter was joined by two guest from the Detroit Justice Center, Nancy A. Parker and Rubina Mustafa. As they did on Tuesday, Hunter and his guests are exploring court related fines and fees, how fines and fees are impacting communities in Michigan, and the policies that have started the slow fight to eliminate court fines and fees.

Guest:

Nancy A. Parker, Executive Director, Detroit Justice Center

Rubina Mustafa, Senior Staff Attorney, Detroit Justice Center

Resources:

Detroit Justice Center

https://detroitjustice.org/

​​FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES:

[email protected]

​​FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES:

[email protected]

Michigan Road to Restoration

https://www.michigan.gov/sos/license-id/road-to-restoration

Documentaries

https://finedout.com/new-mexico/

http://finedout.com/

https://finedout.com/michigan/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

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@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com

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Today, Hunter was joined once again by journalist Katey Rausch. Last time Katey was on the show, she discussed her bombshell reporting on the non-disclosure agreements law enforcement was using to hide the misconduct of law enforcement officers. Now, Katey is here to describe how that reporting has turned into a ban on those agreements and a state wide data base to allow people to track law enforcement misconduct.

Guest:

Katey Rusch, Record Requests Manager and Data Journalist, California Reporting Project, UC Berkeley School of Journalism

Resources:

Contact Katey

https://journalism.berkeley.edu/person/katey-rusch/

https://x.com/kateyrusch?lang=en

Read Katey's Work and About the Database

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2024/police-clean-record-agreements/

https://gijn.org/stories/investigating-police-officer-misconduct/

https://journalism.berkeley.edu/berkeley-and-stanford-police-database/

https://clean.calmatters.org/

https://calmatters.org/justice/2025/08/police-misconduct-records-database/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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Today, Hunter spoke with Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center. Today, the two sat down to discuss FFJC's campaign to end court fines and fess the automatically revoke a person's driver's license nationally and in New Mexico

Guest:

Joanna Weiss, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Fines and Fees Justice Center

Resources:

FFJC

https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/

https://x.com/FinesandFeesJC

https://www.facebook.com/finesandfeesjc/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/finesandfeesjc/

https://bsky.app/profile/finesandfeesjc.bsky.social

https://www.youtube.com/@finesfeesjusticecenter9462

Reform in New Mexico

https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/2023/06/15/new-mexicos-drivers-license-suspension-reform-is-now-in-effect-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

Documentaries

https://finedout.com/new-mexico/

http://finedout.com/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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@PublicDefenselessPodcast

Twitter

@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com

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Today, Hunter spoke with David Bennett, a veteran in the field of pretrial services. They discuss the evolution of pretrial services, the challenges of jail overcrowding, and the misconceptions surrounding pretrial programs. David shares insights on the importance of community support, risk assessment, and the need for effective alternatives to electronic monitoring. The conversation highlights the critical role of rehabilitation and support services in the criminal justice system, emphasizing the need for a paradigm shift in how we approach punishment and pretrial release.

Guest:

David Bennett, Retired Pre-Trial Services and Criminal Justice Consultant

Resources:

Read More Here

https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/jail-capacity-planning-guide-systems-approach

Contact Hunter Parnell:

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Today, Hunter spoke with three amazing guests from Colorado's Office of Alternate Defense Counsel. Kristin Ladd, Blue Daniels, and Mesa Anderson joined the show to discuss the Greater Colorado Fellowship. This program aims to place lawyers in rural parts of the state to serve as private criminal defense lawyers who handle public defender cases.

Guest:

Kristin Ladd, Attorney Development Coordinator, Office of Alternate Defense Counsel, Colorado

Mesa Anderson, Greater Colorado Fellow, Western Slope of Colorado

Blue Daniels, Greater Colorado Fellow, Durango, Colorado

Resources:

Find More About the Program Here

https://www.coloradoadc.org/public-information/greater-colorado-programs

Email the Guests

Blue Daniels [email protected]

Kristin Ladd [email protected]

Mesa Anderson [email protected]

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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In this conversation, Hunter Parnell speaks with criminologist Emily about the unique challenges faced by justice-involved women. They discuss the importance of culturally competent tools and resources, the need for gender-specific risk assessment tools, and the impact of trauma and domestic violence on women's pathways to crime. Emily emphasizes the necessity of individualized approaches in the criminal justice system and the importance of listening to the voices of those affected. The conversation also touches on the rising incarceration rates of women and the need for diversion programs to address these issues effectively.

Guest:

Emily Sailsbury PhD, Professor, University of Utah college of Social Work

Resources:

Find Emily's Work Here

https://profiles.faculty.utah.edu/u6030672

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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@PDefenselessPod

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Today, Hunter spoke with Natasha Dartigue, the Chief Public Defender of the Maryland Office of Public Defense. This time, Natasha and Hunter spoke about the workload crisis facing the state and a slate of new criminal legal policies that are pushing Maryland in a better direction.

Guest:

Natasha Dartigue, Chief Public Defender, Maryland

Resources:

Maryland Public Defender

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

Immigration (both bills passed and went into effect 6/1/25):

• Sensitive locations: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0828
• MD Values Act: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb1222

National workloads:

• Annual report: https://opd.state.md.us/_files/ugd/8cb54c_7eabe4b48b944b209533fe9f6332605b.pdf

Youth Justice:

• Last year's bill to limit the automatic charging of children as adults (did not pass): https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0422
• Our one-pager on the issue: https://opd.state.md.us/_files/ugd/8cb54c_9460bce1042a4eecbcba1b7e17e6f715.pdf

Second Look Act (goes into effect 10/1/25):

• https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0853

Parental Defense:

• Know Before They Knock bill (did not pass): https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0223
• Preventing Harm of Separation one-pager: https://opd.state.md.us/_files/ugd/868471_3f9ec04e1aa449669a307ea0fbd471c6.pdf
• Know Before They Knock 1-pager: https://opd.state.md.us/_files/ugd/868471_840039a4932143ee927752745c619647.pdf

Safer Traffic Stops:

• SB292/HB635 (did not pass): https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0292
• One-pager on SB292: https://opd.state.md.us/_files/ugd/8cb54c_880a090626d046f0a536bd4ea12ebcaa.pdf

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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Today, Hunter was joined by the Southern Center for Human Right's Blake Feldman. Hunter and Blake walked through a handful of criminal legal policy changes that recently went into effect in Georgia. Unfortunately, the state continues it's tough on crime approach that may ultimately lead to more kids in adult court, more adults serving mandatory minimums, and the state further trying to incarcerate it's way out of societal issues.

Guest:

Blake Feldman, Senior Policy Counsel, Southern Center for Human Rights

Resources:

Southern Center for Human Rights

https://www.schr.org/

https://www.facebook.com/southerncenterforhumanrights/

https://x.com/southerncenter

https://www.instagram.com/thesoutherncenter

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCApuQiMnBpcuxt-GWx9eF1A

https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesoutherncenter/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

Instagram

@PublicDefenselessPodcast

Twitter

@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com

Subscribe to the Patreon

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Today, Hunter was joined by three guests from Hennepin County's Adult Representation Services. As has been discussed multiple times on the show, many of the clients that walk into a public defender office have legal needs outside their criminal case. Whether it is in eviction court or family court, our clients often do not have access to counsel in these critical cases. ARS was created to fill the gaps in the access to counsel to ensure people have a fighting chance in their civil legal issues.

Guest:

Jeanette Boerner, Director of Adult Representation Services, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Jessica Ryan, Principal Attorney, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Terrance Hendricks, Principal Attorney, Hennepin County, Minnesota

Resources:

ARS Website

https://www.hennepin.us/en/adult-representation-services

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

Instagram

@PublicDefenselessPodcast

Twitter

@PDefenselessPod

www.publicdefenseless.com

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Today, Hunter was joined by Journalist Dan Hinkel to discuss his newest piece about the Conviction Integrity Unit in Cook County. While CIUs are an imperfect vessel to right the wrongs of a wrongful conviction, they still serve an essential function when they operate properly. The problem is since Eileen O'Neill Burketook over as the new State Attorney in Cook County the CIU hasn't exonerated a single person. Dan joins the show to help us understand how that has happened.

Guest:

Dan Hinkel, Senior Reporter, Injustice Watch

Resources:

Find Dan's Work Here

https://www.injusticewatch.org/author/danhinkel/

Contact Hunter Parnell:

[email protected]

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