Public Defenseless 08: Why Did Indiana's Public Defense System Fail? w/Larry Landis
When it comes to public defense, Larry Landis is a legend.
As the former Head of the Indiana Public Defender Council, Larry has been in public defense since the 1970s and has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry.
As the architect of the current Indiana indigent defense system, he explains how the reimbursement model Indiana runs on came to be and how it affects people trapped in the legal system.
Because Larry has been in this industry for so long, you'll get a unique behind-the-scenes view of the Indiana indigent defense system that you won't get anywhere else!
Key Topics and Takeaways:
- Larry's background + an overview of his impressive career
- The evolution of public defense infrastructure in Indiana
- Larry's past legislative work to improve Indiana public defense
- When the speediness of a trial gets in the way of a fair one
- Why misdemeanors in Indiana are not reimbursed
- The vilification of public defenders
- Winning back communities that have lost faith in public defenders
- How we can encourage law students to see public defense as a legitimate career opportunity
Guest:
Larry Landis, Former Head of the Indiana Public Defender Council
Resources:
Sixth Amendment Center Report Indiana
2017 Task Force on Indiana Indigent Defense
2020 American Bar Association Workload Study
Memorable Quotes:
"There's too many cases trying to fit through a small funnel." (6:40, Larry)
"We have tried numerous times to increase reimbursement for misdemeanors, but I've never been successful." (12:25, Larry)
"Lawyers are no different than most people, they can be desensitized and numbed by the fact that they're not providing effective representation. My position is they need to be much stronger at advocating and challenging the system and refusing to be enablers" (21:01, Larry)
"The adversarial system is designed for once that accusation is lodged, game on in terms of that, that train is rolling down the tracks. And if you don't have someone to slow it down, you're going to prison." (38:52, Larry)
"There's gotta be consequences right now, there's virtually none. So the lawyers can get away with curing corners, counties can underfund it, and there's no consequence." (49:52, Larry)
"We have this idea that people who require indigent defense are the worst of the worst of society. When in reality, the vast majority of them are low-level offenders who given enough opportunity, given the resources and not just discarded from society can again be productive members." (57:04, Hunter)
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