Public Defenseless Hunter Parnell

Today, Hunter is joined by another amazing guest from the Wren Collective, Adrienne Johnson. Today’s conversation is about their report on Public Defense in Gwinnet County, Georgia. While there is a state wide Public Defender in Georgia, Gwinnet County has been able to maintain its independence from the state system. If Public Defender’s in Gwinnett County want to maintain that independence, it is essential that they address some of the glaring problems in Public Defense that this report exposed.
 
 
Guests:
Adrienne Johnson, Senior Counsel, Wren Collective
 
 
Resources:
Read the Report Here
https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_ff1ad77fe24b47db9bb6fef98d6aad47.pdf
 
 
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Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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 *Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorao Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Justice Text Co-Founder Devshi Mehrotra to discuss how Justice Text is helping Public Defender Office’s enter the digital era. This time, Devshi brought Elisabeth Pollock, Chief of the Champaign IL Public Defender Office, to talk about the serious digital overhaul Elisabeth undertook once she took charge of the office. Coming from the federal system, Elisabeth was used to a fully digital system, so it came as quiet a shock when Elisabeth realized that her new office in Champaign County was a completely paper-based system. Thankfully with the help of Justice Text, Elisabeth was able to quickly digitize the office and finally start analysing the countless hours of body camera generated by their cases.   
 
Guests:
Elisabeth Pollock, Chief Public Defender, Champaign County, Illinois
Devshi Mehrotra, Co-Founder, Justice Text
 
Resources:
 
Justice Text
https://justicetext.com/
Chicago Appleseed Fair Trial
https://www.chicagoappleseed.org/
Elisabeth Contact
https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-pollock-38377110/
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                            
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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*Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorao Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined once again by Patricia Warth, Director of the NY Office of Indigent Legal Services. This time, Hunter and Patricia discuss the in the weeds budget moves that are threatening vital programs in New York Public Defense. Specifically, they talk about the failing family court system and how a sweep up of funds may endanger an already struggling practice.
 
Guests:
Patricia Warth, Director, New York Office of Indigent Legal Services
 
 
Resources:
Coverage of the Fund Sweep Up
https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/03/22/legal-advocates-oppose-234m-funding-cut-from-public-defense/
https://www.nylpi.org/resource/ilsf-sweep-organization-sign-on-letter-3-21-24/
https://nysba.org/nysba-supports-funding-of-the-indigent-legal-services-fund/
ILS Website
https://www.ils.ny.gov/node/7/ils-office
Email Patricia
Patricia.Warth@ils.ny.gov
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                            
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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Today, Hunter is joined by the newest State Public Defender of California, Galit Lipa. As discussed on previous episodes, California has a county based public defender system. As such, Galit and her office sit in a limited role to help train public defenders around the state. Following a law suit and several reports highlighting the failings of public defense in California, Galit and her team could prove to be a pivotal voice in rethinking the delivery of California public defense.
 
Guests:
Galit Lipa, State Public Defender, California Office of the State Public Defender
 
Resources:
Contact Galit
https://www.linkedin.com/in/galit-lipa/
OSPD
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/ospd-sharepoint-pages/
 
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                            
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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Today, Hunter is joined by Molly Gilbert and Jason Schwarz to discuss the plan to implement Public Defender workload standards across the state of Washington. Despite not being a centralized Public Defender system, the Public Defenders of Washington, spurred by the State Supreme Court, figured out how to work with the state bar to get workload standards. As they sit on the verge of getting enforceable standards approved by the State Supreme Court, Hunter, Molly, and Jason explore how these workload standards came to be and what other states can learn from this process.
 
Guests:
Molly Gilbert, Investigator and Union President, Department of Public Defense, King County Washington
Jason Schwarz, Director, Snohomish County, Washington
Resources:
News Coverage of New Workload Standards
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-bar-approves-much-lower-caseloads-for-public-defenders/
https://www.king5.com/article/news/state/plan-ease-caseloads-public-defenders-bankrupt-some-counties/281-b67dcd4b-fe19-4608-ade5-4c297f29e0b4
https://www.wsba.org/connect-serve/committees-boards-other-groups/council-public-defense
Publicola- New Caseload Standards Aim to Improve Ailing Public Defense System, But Could Take a Bite Out of County Budget
 
Email Jason
Jason.Schwarz@co.snohomish.wa.us
Email Molly
mollygilbertseiu@gmail.com
WSBA Meeting
has been uploaded to Youtube,
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                            
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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www.publicdefenseless.com 
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Today, Hunter is joined by Taylor Herbert, a Public Defender in Lan County Oregon to discuss civil commitment. As is often talked about on the show, the divide between the civil and criminal legal system is far smaller than many are willing to admit. Civil commitment is the process by which a person can be confined in a mental health facility against their will. Unlike a criminal process, which does not allow for you to be deprived of liberty unless you’ve been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, civil commitment allows for a deprivation of liberty after only reaching clear and convincing evidentiary standard.  Why is this an issue? Why do we allow? What are the failings of civil commitment in Oregon? All that and more on this episode!


 
Guests:
Taylor Herbert, Staff Attorney, Mental Health Division, Public Defender Services of Lane County, Oregon
 
 
Resources:
ORS 426-427
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors426.html
Email Taylor
therbert@lanepds.org
 
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                            
Publicdefenseless@gmail.com 
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www.publicdefenseless.com 
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