The Permanent Record

As the daughter of a police officer, Lisa Geis was always an unlikely candidate to be a defense attorney. But after attending law school a little later in life, Lisa has devoted her life to defending children. A little over a year ago, Lisa moved to Memphis to open and direct the Children's Defense Clinic at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

After spending time practicing in Washington, DC and New Jersey, Lisa brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to the problems facing Shelby County's Juvenile Court. In this episode, Lisa shares some of that experience with us, and she candidly discusses what's missing in Memphis and how she teaches students to approach such a challenging issue.

After keeping an intentionally low profile since the 2015 Memphis mayoral election, AC Wharton told us he is excited to get involved in the community again. We talked to him at his office at The AC Wharton Group for this episode. Mayor Wharton spoke with his usual candor and warmth, discussing his inspiration for becoming a lawyer, some of the good things he's working on, and how he still has unmatched energy and optimism after decades of public service. 

Mayor Wharton served as Shelby County's Chief Public Defender before going on to become Mayor of Memphis. Similarly, our last guest, former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, also served as public defender before moving to city hall. Our interview with Mayor Wharton is the second in our two-part series featuring both mayors and highlighting their unique career path. Make sure you check out Mayor Dean's interview, as well.

Settling in Nashville turned out to be a good decision for former mayor Karl Dean. After graduating from Vanderbilt Law School, he went on to work as a public defender, eventually winning election as Metro Davidson County's Public Defender. From there, he served two terms as Mayor, guiding Nashville through the Great Recession and the catastrophic flood of 2010. Now, Mayor Dean is running for governor, and he was gracious enough to stop by for a conversation. We discussed what it was like being a public defender and what impact it had on his time as Mayor. We also talked about what real criminal justice reform would mean for Tennessee. Mayor Dean is positioned to make criminal justice reform a major issue in next year's gubernatorial election.

Our interview with Mayor Dean kicks off a two-part series that will also feature former Memphis Mayor AC Wharton and highlights both mayors' unique career path. Like Mayor Dean, AC Wharton also served as public defender prior to becoming mayor. Watch for Mayor Wharton's interview in the next episode of The Permanent Record. 

For 11 years Wendi C. Thomas was the metro columnist for the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Since leaving that job in 2014, she has completed a fellowship at Harvard and become a frequent contributor to the Christian Science Monitor and The Undefeated, ESPN's new site on sports, race, and culture. On the issues of race and justice, Wendi's voice is as distinct and clear as they come.

Before a live audience at an OAM Network fundraiser earlier this month, we discussed Wendi's latest project, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, the future of news, and how she ended up as a journalist in the first place.

You may not know her name, but if you keep up with Just City, you surely know her work. Chelsea Kapes is Just City's Clean Slate Fund Associate. She was one of several young people spending a year of service and discernment in Memphis as part of the Episcopal Service Corp program. 

We talked to Chelsea about what it's like to be the bearer of frequent bad news, how she would change expungement if she had one wish, and why she's leaving Memphis with a "justice cat." 

State Representative Raumesh Akbari is a native Memphian and has served in the Tennessee General Assembly since winning a special election in 2013. As the youngest member of the legislature she already has a reputation among her peers as a hard-working, no nonsense lawmaker capable of getting things done. Under her leadership, Tennessee passed laws making expungements more affordable and more widely available this year.

On this episode of The Permanent Record we talk to Rep. Akbari in front of a live audience as part of our Just City: Live! series. She recounted her path to politics, her reasons for pursuing criminal justice reform, and how she works with members of the opposite party on issues that affect all Tennesseans. 

For Episode 2 of The Permanent Record we went on the road for one of our two interviews. In Memphis, new lawyer Erica Perry was part of a national action to bail out as many women as possible in advance of Mother's Day. She told us all about it. Then, we went to see Arissa Hall. She works in Brooklyn for the National Bail Fund Network and coordinated similar efforts across the country. Together, they were part of the National Mama's Bailout Day. It was wildly successful and highlights the problems of money bail -- problems Just City is addressing with bail funds in both Nashville and Memphis.

For our first episode, we sat down with Memphis Police Department Director Mike Rallings. A Memphis native and long-time member of the force, Rallings was promoted to this position last summer. You may recall his successful and well-received handling of the protest that shut down the I-40 bridge. We spoke to Director Rallings about the appropriate number of officers for Memphis, the challenges of community policing, and his decision to reject the recommendations of the Community Law Enforcement Review Board.