Public Defenseless

Hunter Parnell

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system perpetuates cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people just trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the system and what we can do about it. Host and public defender Hunter Parnell talks with defense attorneys, advocates, scholars and journalists from across the country as they pull apart the system's convoluted web. Views are the host's and guests' own, not their employers'. Not legal advice.

  1. 1d ago

    531 | What Does the Los Angeles County Public Defender Union Think of Their New Workload Study? w/Karl Fenske

    On this episode, Hunter is joined by Karl Fenske, a long time Los Angeles County Public Defender and lead steward for Local 148. On this episode, Hunter and Karl discuss the union's take on the newest workload study of the Los Angeles Public Defender Office. Guest: Karl Fenske, Lead Steward, Los Angeles County Public Defenders Union, Local 148 and  Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Resource: Read the Report Here https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA5011-1.html   Learn More About the Union Here https://local148.org/ https://www.facebook.com/LApubdefunion https://x.com/LApubdefunion https://bsky.app/profile/lapubdefunion.bsky.social https://www.instagram.com/lapubdefunion   Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com  DISCLAIMER:  Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

  2. 3d ago

    529 | How Does the Leadership of the Los Angeles County Public Defender Plan to Use Their New Workload Study? w/Ricardo Garcia and Traci Blackburn

    On this episode, Hunter is joined once again by Ricardo García and for the first time, Traci Blackburn. On September 10th, 2026, a new workload study of the Los Angeles Public Defender was published by RAND. Ricardo and Traci joined the show to discuss the findings of the study and how leadership plans on using the study to get more funding for the office. Guest: Ricardo García, Los Angeles County Public Defender Traci Blackburn, Assistant Public Defender, Los Angeles County Public Defender Resource: Read the Report Here https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA5011-1.html Learn More About the Office Here https://pubdef.lacounty.gov/ https://www.instagram.com/lapubdef/ https://www.facebook.com/LACOUNTYPD/ https://x.com/lapubdef https://www.linkedin.com/company/lapubdef/home/ Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com  DISCLAIMER: Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

    529 | How Does the Leadership of the Los Angeles County Public Defender Plan to Use Their New Workload Study? w/Ricardo Garcia and Traci Blackburn
  3. Oct 22

    528 | Will Utah's Tough-on-Crime Policies Force Salt Lake's Public Defenders to Stop Taking New Cases? w/Richard Mauro.

    On this episode, Hunter welcomes back Richard Mauro, executive director of the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association. Richard explains how his office built Project Rio, a program that connects people experiencing homelessness with services instead of jail. Richard and Hunter also dig into how state-level criminal justice policy is piling workload pressure onto public defenders, and why that pressure may not be sustainable. Guest: Richard Mauro, Executive Director, Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, Utah Resource: Contact the Office Here: https://www.sllda.com/ Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com  DISCLAIMER: Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

    528 | Will Utah's Tough-on-Crime Policies Force Salt Lake's Public Defenders to Stop Taking New Cases? w/Richard Mauro.
  4. Oct 20

    527 | Why it is so Important for Public Defenders to Expand the Right to Counsel to Family Defense w/Kelly Driscoll

    On this episode, Hunter speaks with Kelly Driscoll. As the Bureau Chief for the Family Defense Unit of the Montana Public Defender, Kelly is responsible for overseeing the defense of parents and kids in the family legal system. She joins the show to explain how Montana set up this system and why it is so important for Public Defenders to do more than just criminal defense.   Guest: Kelly Driscoll, Family Defense Bureau Chief, Montana State Public Defender Resource: Learn More About the Office Here: https://publicdefender.mt.gov/ Case Law on the right to counsel in Family Court in Montana https://civilrighttocounsel.org/major_developments/montana-parents-have-constitutional-right-to-counsel-in-adoptions-says-high-court/ https://civilrighttocounsel.org/uploaded_files/183/4_AWS_Opinion_published.pdf https://www.leagle.com/decision/1993979852p2d1271976     Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com    DISCLAIMER: Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

    527 | Why it is so Important for Public Defenders to Expand the Right to Counsel to Family Defense w/Kelly Driscoll
  5. Oct 16

    Bonus: Vote No on Proposition 132, the Colorado Fentanyl Measure From a Conservative Dark Money Group, with Kyle Giddings

    On this episode, Hunter is joined once again by Kyle Giddings, the Deputy Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Campaign Chair for Vote no on 132. These two sat down to discuss the Colorado Ballot Initiative, Prop 132, another attempt by the Colorado Conservative dark money group, Advance Colorado, to restart the war on drugs. Guest: Kyle Giddings, the Deputy Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Campaign Chair for Vote no on 132, Colorado Resource: Learn More about Prop 132: https://noon132.com/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24337605029&gbraid=0AAAABE7pyO0T69Hy4YQZljkynzrlV47kC&gclid=CjwKCAjwrbfWBhAeEiwAc2e6PhFJoWANSo08mY0SACwL77PJbarugzIUGIfmWL7MdWwyezCRifv-ZxoCM7IQAvD_BwE    Learn More about Advance Colorado: https://www.whoisadvancecolorado.org/ https://www.coloradopolitics.com/2026/10/11/the-most-influential-republican-in-the-state-doesnt-hold-office-6/ https://www.denverpost.com/2026/10/08/advance-colorado-ballot-measures-election-2026/ https://coloradonewsline.com/2026/09/17/warp-democracy-in-colorado/     Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com    DISCLAIMER: Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

    Bonus: Vote No on Proposition 132, the Colorado Fentanyl Measure From a Conservative Dark Money Group, with Kyle Giddings
  6. Oct 15

    526 | How Public Defenders can use New Second Amendment Supreme Court Case to Win Self-Defense Claims w/Jacob Charles

    On this episode, Hunter was joined once again by Professor Jacob Charles. Last time Jacob was on the show, he and Hunter discussed the groundbreaking Second Amendment cases of Bruen and Rahimi. This time, Jacob sat down to examine the two newest Supreme Court Second Amendment Cases Wolford and Hemani and detail what these cases could mean for criminal defense lawyers. Guest: Jacob Charles, Professor of Law, Pepperdine University Caruso School of Law Resource: Contact Jacob Here https://law.pepperdine.edu/faculty-research/jacob-charles/ https://bsky.app/profile/jacobdcharles.bsky.social Read the Cases Here Hemani https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1234_g2bh.pdf Wolford https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1046_nmio.pdf   Public Defenders of D.C. Filings https://efile.dcappeals.gov/public/caseView.do?csIID=67629&utm https://www.dccourts.gov/sites/default/files/oral-arguments/Amicus%20Curiae%20Brief%2023-CF-514.pdf     Contact Hunter Parnell:      Contact Hunter Parnell:  Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram: @PublicDefenselessPodcast  YouTube: @publicdefenselesspodcast  Facebook: Public Defenseless Podcast  Bluesky: @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social  Twitter: @PDefenselessPod  Website: www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patreon: www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe: https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home *** ALL OPINONS SHARED BY HOST HUNTER PARNELL DO NOT REFLECT THE THOUGHTS OR OPINIONS OF THE AURORA MUNICIPAL PUBLIC DEFENDER***

    526 | How Public Defenders can use New Second Amendment Supreme Court Case to Win Self-Defense Claims w/Jacob Charles
  7. Oct 14

    525 | Will Police Soon be Deploying Armed Autonomous Drones to a Neighborhood Near You? w/Matthew Guariglia

    On this episode, Hunter is joined once again by Matthew Guariglia. At his work at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Matthew has become one of the leading voices sounding the alarms about the proliferation of mass surveillance technology. Now, Matthew is here to discuss a new, frightening technology that may be coming to a neighborhood near you: Armed Autonomous Drones.   Guest: Matthew Guariglia, Senior Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation   Resource: Follow Matthew's Work Here: https://www.eff.org/about/staff/dr-matthew-guariglia-0 https://www.matthewguariglia.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/mguariglia.bsky.social Read More About the Drones Here: https://www.404media.co/new-orleans-cops-published-policy-document-allowing-weaponized-drones/ Public Defenseless Links and Contact Get each new episode a day early on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Search past episode transcripts: https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  Follow and support the show, plus all our links: https://linktr.ee/pdefenselesspodcast  Website: https://www.publicdefenseless.com  Contact the show: publicdefenseless@gmail.com    DISCLAIMER: Hunter Parnell hosts Public Defenseless in his personal capacity. The views expressed by the host and guests are their own and do not represent the Aurora Municipal Public Defender or any guest's employer. Nothing on this show is legal advice, and listening does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you are facing criminal charges, talk to a lawyer.

    525 | Will Police Soon be Deploying Armed Autonomous Drones to a Neighborhood Near You? w/Matthew Guariglia
4.7
out of 5
99 Ratings

About

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system perpetuates cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people just trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the system and what we can do about it. Host and public defender Hunter Parnell talks with defense attorneys, advocates, scholars and journalists from across the country as they pull apart the system's convoluted web. Views are the host's and guests' own, not their employers'. Not legal advice.

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