Public Defenseless 55: Capital Representation and the Office of the Defender General w/Andrea Lyon
Dubbed by the Chicago Tribune as "The Angel of Death Row", Andrea Lyon is one of the most successful Capital Case Public Defenders in the country, but she is so much more than that. As an author, educator, former law school dean, and advocate for criminal justice reform, there is next to nothing that Andrea has not done in her career.
On today's episode, Hunter and Andrea discuss her experience as a Capital Public Defender, in Academia, and most importantly, her push to create the Office of the Defender General at the State Level. There are many reasons why it is essential to create the office, but none may be more important than the desperate for Public Defenders and the defense bar to play a larger role in policy decisions at the federal level.
It is so important that Hunter pulled out that section of the conversation and released it as its own episode. If you want to hear Andrea's thoughts on the Office of the Defender General you can find it at the end of this one or on the other episode released today. However you go about it, it is essential to hear Andrea out and begin thinking seriously about pushing for deeper systemic changes to our legal system.
Guests:
Andrea Lyon, Capital Defense Attorney, Former Capital Public Defender, Author, Educator, and Former Dean of Valparaiso Law School
Key Topics and Takeaways:
How did Andrea Start off in this Work [8:30]
Things that Stood Out in Andrea's Career as a Capital Public Defender [10:45]
Andrea's motivation for staying active in Capital Representation [20:47]
The arguments that helped Andrea be a success in Capital Representation [24:45]
How can Law school Improve the way it teaches the practice of law vs the theory of law [34:40]
The need for the Defender General [51:21]
How RICO is used and abused and how a Defender General could have stopped similar policies from being implemented [54:30]
How the Defender General would Operate [1:01:00]
Resources:
Office of Defender General Website
Contact Hunter Parnell:
hwparnell@publicdefenseless.com