Public Defenseless 62: Why Does the Aurora City Council Want to Dismantle the Public Defender Office w/Doug Wilson
Today, Hunter sat down once again with Doug Wilson, Chief Public Defender in the Aurora Municipal Public Defender Office, to discuss what has unfolded in Aurora, Colorado over the past year. Often, people will ask the question, "Why do you think we don't fund Public Defender Offices the way we should?" While there are many potential answers to that question, this episode highlights one of the most important ones: Policy makers have an exponentially more tough time incarcerating people when there is a zealous advocate both in and out of the court room for the rights of the accused.
Starting back to last year, the Aurora Public Defender Office has been instrumental in highlighting the misconduct and illegal activity of the prosecution and police of the city. At the same time, the city council marched on towards its mission to incarcerate as many people as possible in a misguided effort to make their community safer. At every step of the way, Doug and his office have been pushing back against the city's goals.
Now it seems, the city is tired of the pushback. Tune in to hear how the city is attempting to use the language of cost efficiency to mask their true intentions: dismantling the most powerful advocate against their march towards increased incarceration.
Guests:
Doug Wilson, Chief Public Defender, Aurora, Colorado Municipal Public Defender Office
Key Topics and Takeaways:
The City Attorney's Brady violations and the PDO's role in exposing them [8:22]
How does the PDO impede the goal of the city council [20:41]
How did the city support its mandatory minimum sentencing [25:13]
Is the city council now seeking to dismantle the office? [30:20]
The response from the community [38:03]
The media's failure to cover this topic [44:30]
Why the fiscal efficiency argument is bogus [52:00]
What is next for Aurora [59:25]
Resources:
Aurora city attorneys review, notify impacted defendants of lacking 'Brady letters'
Aurora lawmakers give 1st OK to mandatory jail time for shoplifting, despite lack of cost data
Aurora lawmakers impose mandatory 3 days in jail for shoplifting more than $300
Impacts of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing:
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/end-mandatory-minimums
ACLU Report on Municipal Courts Colorado
Contact Hunter Parnell:
hwparnell@publicdefenseless.com