Public Defenseless

Hunter Parnell

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system. Like so many of you, Hunter is not an attorney, simply tired of a news cycle and talking heads that offer no real solutions to the ever-growing list of problems we face. Hunter hopes that with this information, you will share his belief that ordinary people still can make a difference.

  1. 450 | How Has New York's Bail Reform Laws Impacted Public Safety? w/Rene Ropac

    41M AGO

    450 | How Has New York's Bail Reform Laws Impacted Public Safety? w/Rene Ropac

    Today, Hunter was joined by René Ropac of the Data Collaborative for Justice to discuss their newest report on the impacts, or lack thereof, of New York's bail reforms.     Guest: René Ropac, Senior Research Associate, Data Collaborative for Justice   Resources: Read the Report https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/work/bail-reform/examining-the-impact-of-eliminating-bail-on-recidivism-in-the-new-york-city-suburbs-and-upstate-regions-a-difference-in-differences-study/ Contact Rene https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/staff/rene-ropac/   Learn More about DCJ https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/     Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 4m
  2. 449 | How the People of Minneapolis Organized to Resist ICE, CBP, and DHS w/Brandon Garcia, Maggie Bott, and Bob Kolstad

    1D AGO

    449 | How the People of Minneapolis Organized to Resist ICE, CBP, and DHS w/Brandon Garcia, Maggie Bott, and Bob Kolstad

    Today, Hunter was joined by three people, Maggie Bott, Brandon Garcia, and Bob Kolstad, who have lived through the federal occupation of Minneapolis. They join the show to detail what ICE, CBP, and DHS have been doing in the city and how the city has organized and resisted those efforts.   Guest: Brandon Garcia, Policy Aide to City Council President Elliot Page, Minneapolis, Minnesota Maggie Bott, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota Bob Kolstad, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota   Resources: Mutual Aid to Minnesota https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ https://defend612.com/     Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 2m

  3. 2D AGO

    448 | How the History of the New York Police Department Reveals the Essential Problems with Policing w/Matthew Guariglia

    Today, Hunter spoke with Matthew Guariglia, a historian, scholar, and author of the book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York. In it, Matthew walks the read through the early history of the New York Police Department. By learning this history, the hope is that people understand what some of the essential characteristics of American policing are. Hopefully by understanding the essential characteristics, people can fully understand how and why police operate they way they do.      Guest: Matthew Guariglia, Historian, Scholar, Author, Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York Resources: Contact and Read more from Matthew Here https://www.matthewguariglia.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/mguariglia.bsky.social https://www.instagram.com/mguarig/ https://www.eff.org/about/staff/dr-matthew-guariglia-0 Pick up a Copy of the Book Here https://www.dukeupress.edu/police-and-the-empire-city     Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 2m
  4. 447 | Why did an Oregon Public Defender Sue the Oregon Public Defense Commission? Part 2 w/Stacey Lowe

    FEB 18

    447 | Why did an Oregon Public Defender Sue the Oregon Public Defense Commission? Part 2 w/Stacey Lowe

    Today, Hunter spoke w/Stacey Lowe, Executive Director of the Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services. They discussed why Stacey joined Shannon Wilson's lawsuit challenging the new contract conditions put in place by the Oregon Public Defense Commission.     Guest: Stacey Lowe, Executive Director, Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services   Resources: SWOPDS https://swopds.org/   Contact Stacey  slowe@swopds.org   Read More About the Suit https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2025/11/15/court-opdc-marion-county-public-defenders-contract/87279929007/ https://www.pdmarion.org/information-for-the-media https://kobi5.com/news/top-stories/southern-oregon-public-defense-success-clouded-by-quota-lawsuit-288302/   OPDC Response "We are unable to comment on pending litigation, but for questions about workload standards, I refer you to pages 20-22 (pages 26-28 in the search) of our recent status report. The section on long-term planning describes our goal of transitioning to a workload model.     For questions about contracts, I encourage you to visit our website, where you can find the following information:      Contracts for 2025-2027 Contracts for 2023-2025 A timeline of the contracting process, which included soliciting contractors' feedback on draft contracts through online feedback forms. We also held informational sessions for contractors. Our responses to questions that public defense providers asked while reviewing drafts of the contracts. Maximum attorney caseloads (MAC) – Click on Contracts 2023-2025 and scroll down to "What are the Maximum Attorney Caseloads under the 2023-25 contracts?"    OPDC's contracts are based on maximum attorney caseloads. The MAC standards in the 2025-2027 contracts are identical to those that were in the 2023-2025 contracts. The MAC standards can be found in Exhibit B of the 2025-2027 contracts. They are listed on page 19 under the section titled Rolling Annual Caseload Limits. They are listed on page B-1 under Annual Caseload Limits in the 2023- 2025 contracts."      Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 13m
  5. 446 | Why did an Oregon Public Defender Sue the Oregon Public Defense Commission? Part 1 w/Shannon Wilson and Stephen Hanlon

    FEB 17

    446 | Why did an Oregon Public Defender Sue the Oregon Public Defense Commission? Part 1 w/Shannon Wilson and Stephen Hanlon

    Today, Hunter spoke w/Shannon Wilson and Stephen Hanlon. Last fall, Shannon, the Executive Director of the Marion County Public Defender, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Public Defense Commission to challenge new requirements in Oregon Public Defender contracts. Now, Shannon and Stephen join the show to explain why and what comes next for Oregon Public Defense.   Guest: Shannon Wilson, Executive Director, Marion County Public Defender, Oregon Stephen Hanlon, Public Interest Lawyer   Resources: Contact Shannon https://www.pdmarion.org/shannon-wilson Read More About the Suit https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2025/11/15/court-opdc-marion-county-public-defenders-contract/87279929007/ https://www.pdmarion.org/information-for-the-media (The hearing can be found here!!) https://kobi5.com/news/top-stories/southern-oregon-public-defense-success-clouded-by-quota-lawsuit-288302/ Contact Stephen https://lawyerhanlon.com/   Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 10m
  6. 445 | How We Can Improve Public Safety with Mercy and Compassion w/Emily Galvin Almanza

    FEB 16

    445 | How We Can Improve Public Safety with Mercy and Compassion w/Emily Galvin Almanza

    Today, Hunter was joined once again by Emily Galvin Almanza, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Partners for Justice and author of a new book, The Price of Mercy. In it, Emily expertly weaves together stories from her decades of work in Public Defense with social science that shows the benefits of non-carceral solutions to public safety issues.   Guest: Emily Galvin Almanza, Author, The Price of Mercy, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Partners for Justice   Resources: Pick up a Copy of the Book!! https://www.emilygalvinalmanza.com/ Follow Emily on Social Media https://x.com/GalvinAlmanza https://bsky.app/profile/galvinalmanza.bsky.social   Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 3m
  7. 444 | What Can Help Fix the Public Defense Crisis in Rural California? w/Luke Brownfield

    FEB 12

    444 | What Can Help Fix the Public Defense Crisis in Rural California? w/Luke Brownfield

    Today, Hunter was joined by Luke Brownfield, the Chief Public Defender in Humboldt County, California. With a shortage of attorneys willing to come to the county and the county being short on funding, Luke and his team face serious issues with workloads. Without more support from the state, it is unclear how Luke and his team will tackle the workload crisis without going unavailable like the San Francisco Public Defender Office.   Guest: Luke Brownfield, Chief Public Defender, Humboldt County, California   Resources: Read the Report https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/jul/31/public-defenders-office-overworked-underfunded-and/ Contact the Office https://humboldtgov.org/Directory/Home/DepartmentListing?DID=22     Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    52 min
  8. 443 | Will San Joaquin County Public Defenders be the Next Office to Stop Taking New Cases? w/Judyanne Vallado

    FEB 11

    443 | Will San Joaquin County Public Defenders be the Next Office to Stop Taking New Cases? w/Judyanne Vallado

    Today, Hunter was joined by Judyanne Vallado, the Chief Public Defender in San Joaquin County, California. With a tough on crime DA and large amounts of gun crime, the San Joaquin County Public Defenders have long delt with difficult workloads, but now, with Prop 36 prosecutions increasing felony charges, the office may soon have to make the choice about when enough is enough.   Guest: Judyanne Vallado, Chief Public Defender, San Joaquin County, California   Resources: Learn more about the Office Here https://www.sjgov.org/department/pubdef/home https://www.instagram.com/sjcpublicdefender/?hl=en Contact Judyanne jvallado@sjgov.org Read more about issues in the County  https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/11/27/stockton-declares-local-homelessness-emergency-toughens-camping-ban/76490580007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z118989d00----v118989b0089xxd118965&gca-ft=101&gca-ds=sophi https://www.sjgov.org/department/bos/board-news/board-news-detail/2025/09/10/sjc-board-and-probation-celebrate-sj-cares   Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod 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

    1h 14m
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Trailer

4.8
out of 5
92 Ratings

About

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from across the country as they pull apart the convoluted web of our criminal justice system. Like so many of you, Hunter is not an attorney, simply tired of a news cycle and talking heads that offer no real solutions to the ever-growing list of problems we face. Hunter hopes that with this information, you will share his belief that ordinary people still can make a difference.

Information

  • Creator
    Hunter Parnell
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    461
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Public Defenseless

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