Public Defenseless 18: Data-Driven Public Defense Policy with Stephen Hanlon
In today's episode, I speak with Stephen Hanlon, who has been working for over 30 years to drive forward public interest law.
With the depth of his experience to back him up, he'll explain how data is the key to pushing forward legislation and law suits that can help to reshape and empower public defense.
When advocating for a change to any system, there has to be mutli-faceted approaches. Some people respond well to the emotional stories. For others, it is data they find the most compelling, and that is what Stephen brings to the table. Data to help bolster the compelling stories of defenders and their clients from around the country.
Stephen Hanlon holds a tremendous amount of wisdom and his passion for bettering the system will inspire you to take action!
Key Topics and Takeaways:
- How Stephen made his way into the public defense system. [9:37]
- Handling states that won't listen to data. [20:42]
- Case refusal. [25:31]
- Why the public defense system needs business plans. [27:14]
- Will we ever be in a place where public defenders only take the cases they can handle? [33:19]
- How contract-dependent states should be handled. [52:24]
- A message from Stephen to the future generations of attorneys. [58:57]
Guest:
Stephen Hanlon, a leader in Public Interest Law over the last 50 years
Resources:
State of Louisiana v Covington
Memorable Quotes:
"Are we willing to live in a society that reflects the principles that we say we value?" (5:56, Hunter)
"I want a lever. I want to be the leveraging force to incentivize and indeed force change." (13:01, Stephen)
"The whole problem with this thing is that there's no business plan for the criminal processing system. We should have never agreed to do this." (27:14, Stephen)
"Without an adequate defense lawyer, a court is not properly constituted." (31:36, Stephen)
"Implore your representatives to ask questions besides guns and abortions." (39:06, Hunter)
"The federal is the floor, the states are the ceiling. Go for the ceiling!" (40:06, Stephen)
Contact Hunter Parnell: