Public Defenseless

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

h...

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...

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/

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...

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...

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/
ht...

On this episode, Hunter is joined by Professor Stuart Schrader to discuss his book Blue Power: How Police Organized to Protect and Serve Themselves. In his book, Stuart walks readers through the long history of how police departments around the country organized themselves to create some of the most influential organizations in all of American politics.  

Guest:

Stuart Schrader, Associate Professor of History, Johns Hopkins University

Resource:

Pick up a Copy of the Book Here:
https://shorturl.at/O0yaq

Follow Stuart Here:
https://bsky.app/profile/st...

On this episode, Hunter speaks once again with Professor Eric Fish about a law review article he published about our immigration system. Since it was implemented in 1996, expedited removal has become the number one tool for deportations in America. However, Eric is here to explain how the whole system might be unconstitutional and ripe for challenge.

Guest:

Eric Fish, Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law

Resource:

Read Eric's Article Here

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6568060

Con...

On this episode, Hunter speaks with Judge Mimi Tsankov, former president of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ). Over nearly two decades on the bench, she served under five administrations and led the association that speaks for the country's immigration judges. Now she joins the show to explain what's broken in a court system that answers to the Justice Department, and why she decided to leave.

Guest:
Judge Mimi Tsankov, Former President, National Association of Immigration Judges

Resources:
Judge Tsankov's website: https://neutralstrategy.com
National Association of Immigration Judges: https://www...

In this episode, Hunter speaks with two criminal defense lawyers and former Public Defenders from the state of Alaska, Amanda Harber and David Case. For the entire 21st Century, the Alaska Legal System has been in a crisis. Too few lawyers. Too much space to cover. And recently, a tough on crime Governor who has pushed to solve social problems with incarceration. Along the way, many in the media have missed what is causing the Alaska legal system to fail.

Guest:

Amanda Harber, Criminal Defense Lawyer and Former Public Defender, Alaska

David Case...

On this episode, Hunter is joined by C.J. Ciaramella of Reason. Recently, C.J. authored an article for Reason that provides an overview of different eras of prison policy and failed reform. In their discussion, Hunter and C.J. explore these eras of prison policy, the reasons why reforms failed, and what those failures tell us about the hope for future prison reforms.

Guest:

C.J. Ciaramella, Reporter, Reason

Resource:

Read the Article Here:
https://reason.com/2026/09/08/the-american-prison-experiment/

Find More of C.J. he...

On this episode, Hunter speaks with three members of the Maryland Defender Union, Rachel Kierfer, Alexis Rossetti, and Kalia Woods. They join to explain the recent victory the union secured to enforce their current contract and how the union is finding its voice to fight for better pay and workloads.

Guest:

Rachel Kiefer, Assistant Public Defender, Baltimore County, Maryland

Alexis Rossetti, Assistant Public Defender, Southern Maryland

Kalia Woods, Administrative Aide, Prince George's County, Maryland

Resource:

Read the Report Here

https://dbm.ma...

On this episode, Hunter speaks once again by Professor Andrew Ferguson to discuss the Fourth Amendment and the right to privacy. Previously, Hunter spoke with Jumana Musa of the Fourth Amendment Center to discuss the recent Supreme Court case of Chatrie v United States. Now, Andrew and Hunter theorize how this case might be used to further protect our data in this digital age.

Guest:

Andrew Ferguson, Professor of Law, GW School of Law

Resource:

Read Chatrie

https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/chatrie-v-united-states/

Re...

On this episode, Hunter speaks once again Jumana Musa, Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyer's Fourth Amendment Center. Hunter and Jumana discuss the recent landmark case of Chatrie vs United States. In that case, the Supreme Court took a major step towards ensuring our data is protected by the Fourth Amendment.

Guest:

Jumana Musa, Director, Fourth Amendment Center, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Resource:

Read Chatrie

https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/chatrie-v-united-states/

Read Judge Carlton Reeve's Decision

On this episode, Hunter speaks once again with Chesa Boudin. This time, the two discussed a new commission in California tasked with studying the best path forward for a state wide solution for Public Defense.

Guest:

Chesa Boudin, Executive Director, UC Berkeley Law's Criminal Law and Justice Center

Resource:

Learn More About the Commission Here

Follow Chesa's Work

https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/criminal-law-and-justice-center/

Public Defenseless Links and Contact

Get each new episode a day early on Patreon:
https://w...

On this episode, Hunter speaks with Rio Scharf and Josh Schwartz to discuss a report detailing the incredible failing of public defense in rural California.

Guest:

Rio Scharf, Staff Attorney, UC Berkeley Law's Criminal Law and Justice Center

Josh Schwartz, Principal, Wren Collective

Resource:

Read the Report Here:

https://wrencollective.org/contracted-to-fail-part-2-how-flat-fee-contracts-undermine-the-right-to-counsel-in-california/

Public Defenseless Links and Contact

Get each new episode a day early on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast 

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In this episode, Hunter speaks with Jesse Crosson about his book The Best Part of Prison: The Power of Second Chances and Reclaiming Life Out of Darkness. Jesse spent nearly 20 years incarcerated for a robbery and non-fatal shooting. Now, he is describing his journey through the legal system, how he was able to get back on his feet, and how our current approach to giving people a second chance is woefully failing.

 Guest:

Jesse Crosson, Author, The Best Part of Prison: The Power of Second Chances and Reclaiming Life Out of Darkness

In this episode, Hunter speaks once again with Emily Galvin Almanza about a new book she is publishing. While her last book sought to teach adults about the failings of our criminal legal system, Emily's newest book, Andromeda Diaz and the Reasonable Doubt, is aimed at teaching kids about legal principles through a public defender's lens. In doing so, Emily hopes to instill a different type of civic education in schools around the country.

Guest:

Emily Galvin Almanza, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Partners for Justice

Resource:

Pick up...

In this episode, Hunter revisits with Matthew Crowell, Director of the Missouri State Public Defender, and for the first time Jet McDonald, MSPD's newest Comms Strategist. They discussed how Matthew was able to use public and private advocacy to secure desperately needed pay raises for the system and their plans to continue expanding their public advocacy to fight for even more improvements to the system.

Guest:

Matthew Crowell, Director, Missouri State Public Defender

Jet McDonald, Communications Strategist, Missouri State Public Defender

Resource:

Learn More about th...

On this episode, Hunter speaks with Jasper Craven, author of the book God Forgives, Brothers Don't: The Long March of Military Education and the Making of American Manhood. While this episode takes us away from the world of Public Defense, this conversation is an illuminating look at how military education like JROTC, ROTC, and the Service Academies help shape American masculinity. By understanding the culture inculcated at these institutions, we are better able to understand how that hyper violent culture spreads to police departments and other young men around the country.

Guest:

Jasper C...

On this episode, Professor Mason Clark joins to discuss a new white paper he authored for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers titled Parity in Practice: The Defender's Duty to Ethically Use AI.

Guest:

Mason Clark, Associate Professor of Law, St. Mary's School of Law, Texas

Resource:

Read the Report Here

https://www.nacdl.org/Document/ParityinPracticeDefenderAIUse

Contact Mason Here

Since the release of the National Public Defender Workload Study, Malia Brink travelled the country helping Public Defenders create and implement workload standards. Now, she joins the show to discuss the new tool the Deason Center created to help Public Defenders create their own workload standards.

Guest:

Malia Brink, Policy Director, Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center, Southern Methodist University

Resource:

Deason Center Website

https://www.smu.edu/law/centers-and-initiatives/deason-center

Access the Workload Tool Here

In the last budget cycle, Keisha Hudson, Chief Defender of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, asked the city for $5 million. Instead, the city council and the mayor gave her office $0. Now, Keisha is looking at cutting back client services and even potentially refusing to accept new DUI and drug possession cases. On this episode, you will hear Keisha explain how this all happened and what comes next for the office.

Guest:

Keisha Hudson, Chief Public Defender, Defender Association of Philadelphia

Resource:

Defender Association of Philadelphia's Contact

The State of Alabama sentenced Robin "Rocky" Myers to death after he was convicted of murder in 1994. Over the next 30 years, Rocky fought to prove his innocence, and with each passing year, the evidence of his innocence continued to grow. There was a lack of DNA evidence. Inconsistent witness testimony. Police and Prosecutorial misconduct. On top of all that, there were serious problems with the verdict itself. Taken together, these factors pushed Governor Kay Ivey to commute Rocky's death sentence. Yet, Rocky is still serving a life sentence. Now, our guest, Leah Nelson, is here to present evidence that...

Hunter is joined once again by Professor Valena Beety. Valena joins the show to discuss her new book, Pink Crime: Fighting Against the Criminalization of Motherhood, Pregnancy, and Queer Identity. In it, she discusses the cognitive biases, junk sciences, and the systemic policies used to surveil, police, and incarcerate women and queer communities.

Guest:

Valena Beety, Professor of Law, Indiana School of Law

Resource:

Pick up a Copy of the Book Here

https://thenewpress.org/books/pink-crime/

Contact Valena

Hunter is joined once again by Professor Lisa Waters to discuss her law review article, Automating Junk Science. In it, Lisa details a troubling trend where police officers are using automated technology to "verify" that gun matches a bullet found at the scene of a crime. The only problem? The underlying tool mark science is complete junk. How can defenders respond to this automation of Junk Science? Lisa offers a few insights.

Guest:

Lisa Waters, Professor of Law, CUNY School of Law, New York

Resource:

Rea...

Hunter is joined by Liz Ortenburger, the CEO of Safe Nest. Liz and her team at Safe Nest operate a shelter and aid center for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. As Liz sees it, the conventional approach to domestic violence, policing and incarceration, is simply insufficient to end the cycles of violence that lead to domestic violence. Liz joined the show to discuss the different approach Safe Nest takes to try and eradicate domestic violence.

Guest:

Liz Ortenburger, CEO, Safe Nest, Clark County, Nevada

Resource:

Check ou...

Breaking  news: As the evening of Aug 4, the NDS Union won a contract!!

Hunter is joined by Ashley Munger, Katherine Shamsie, and Samantha Rudelich of the NDS Union. The union, representing NDS Harlem, NDS Detroit, and NDS Texas, have been on strike. Hunter sits down with them to discuss why they went on strike, what they hope to accomplish, and what management needs to do to end this strike.  

Guest:

Ashley Munger, Staff Attorney, Criminal Division, NDS Detroit

Katherine Shamsie, Staff Attorney, Criminal Division, NDS Texas

Sa...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by two guests from the Idaho State Public Defender System. Eric Fredericksen, State Public Defender, and Doug Nelson, Litigation Director, join the show to provide an update on the Idaho State System and to highlight a case that shows why the state wide system is better for the people of Idaho.

Guest:

Eric Fredericksen, State Public Defender, Idaho

Doug Nelson, Litigation Director, Idaho

Resource:

Learn More about the System Here

https://spd.idaho.gov/

Hunter is joined once again by Jennifer Jennison and joining us for the first time is Sammy Provencio. After spending more than 30 years in custody, Sammy has joined the Stanislaus County Public Defender Office to help run their newest community-centred initiative, the Hub. Jennifer and Sammy join the show to share what the Hub is, what it does, and to share the power of having formerly incarcerated people work in a Public Defender Office.

Guest:

Jennifer Jennison, Chief Public Defender, Stanislaus County, California

Sammy Provencio, Client Support Specialist, Group Facilitator, Stanislaus C...

Hunter is joined by Ben Polk, Director of the Transformative Justice Project at New York University School of Law, Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights to discuss a recent law review article he authored where he conservatively estimated it would cost $28 billion to fund Public Defense nationwide.

Guest:

Ben Polk, Director, Transformative Justice Project and Research Scholar, New York University School of Law,  Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights,

Resource:

Read the Article Here

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6359060

Hunter is joined once again by Professor Eve Primus to discuss another excellent law review article about Public Defense. This time, Professor Primus details how delays in the appointment of counsel can and do create Constitutional violations that PDs can challenge.

Guest:

Eve Primus, Professor of Law, University of Michigan

Resource:

Read the Article Here

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6288018

Cont

Today, Hunter was joined by Alena Chulick, the Co-Founder and Project Manager of Project Rehabilitate out of the Allegheny County Public Defender. Thanks to a federal grant, Project Rehabilitate has been able to keep people out of custody and kept them in the care they need to get back on their feet.

Guest:

Alena Chulick, Co-Founder and Project Manager, Project Rehabilitate, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Resource:

Project Rehabilitate

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Government/Court-Related/Public-Defender/Project-Rehabilitate

Allegheny County PD Website

https://www.al...

Today, Hunter was joined by Ann Miller, Susette Billedeaux, and Josh Cahoon from the Tribal Defenders Office of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. They joined the show to the tell the history of this office and how they've built it into a model holistic office.

Guest:

Ann Miller, Managing Attorney, Tribal Defenders Office of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Montana

Susette Billedeaux, Holistic Programming Director Tribal Defenders Office of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Montana

Josh Cahoon, Lead Case Manager Tribal Defenders Office of th...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Professor Shira Diner. Last time she was on the show, she explained why the bar advocates in Massachusetts stopped accepting new cases. This time, she joins to explain how the Legislature and Judiciary responded and what comes next for the state.  

Guest:

Shira Diner, Professor of Law, Boston University

Resource:

Read the Case Here

https://statecourtreport.org/case-tracker/committee-public-counsel-services-v-middlesex-and-suffolk-county-district-courts

Today, Hunter was joined by Damon Silver Chief Defender of the Santa Clara County Public Defender. Home to Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County is struggling with a large budget deficit due to federal budget cuts. As such, the Public Defender Office has lost full time positions and is facing a severe workload crisis.

Guest:

Damon Silver, Chief Public Defender, Santa Clara County, California

Resource:

Read More Here

https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-public-defenders-crushed-by-caseloads/

https

Today, Hunter was joined by Colin Charbonneau and Victoria Blumhorst, two Public Defender leaders from Spokane, Washington. They joined the show to explain why they decided to sue their county over the workload standards the county recently imposed.

Guest:

Colin Charbonneau, Director, Spokane County Public Defenders, Washington

Victoria Blumhorst, Director, Counsel for Defense, Spokane, Washington

Resource:

Read the Complaint Here

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1j9QTRxm6VXpiZQTmvdkgY9HHwgauBt_L?usp=drive_link

Read more about the story...

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Shannon Wilson and Stacey Lowe. The last time these two Public Defender Leaders in Oregon were on the show, they discussed why they were suing the Oregon Public Defense Commission. Today, they join to discuss their victory in court and what it means for Public Defense in Oregon.

  *** Note for the show: After recording, editing and publishing the show, Carl McPherson, the Executive Director of The Metropolitan Public Defender in Portland, responded to my request for comment with the following statement: "Regarding the current contract, our office is al...

Today, Hunter was joined by Nia Holston from the Abolitionist Law Center and Sean Damon of Straight-Ahead to discuss a case out of Pennsylvania. In Commonwealth v. Lee, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court  struck down mandatory life without the possibility of parole for felony murder convictions because those sentences violated the states prohibition on cruel punishments.

Guest:

Nia Holston, Staff Attorney, Abolitionist Law Center

Sean Damon, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Straight-Ahead

Resource:

Read the Case Here

https://statecourtreport.org/case-tracker/commonwealth-v-lee

Today, Hunter was joined by Professor Deborah Lolai to discuss her law review article, Out of the Closet, in on Bail. In the article, Deborah details the systemic issues within the bail system, especially as they relate to LGBTQ+ individuals. She explores how pretrial detention disproportionately impacts queer and trans people and how Public Defenders can help get their clients the individualized considerations they deserve.

Guest:

Deborah Lolai, Clinical Professor and Lecturer, Harvard Law  

Resource:

Read the Paper Here

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm...