Public Defenseless

Today, Hunter was joined by Kyle Giddings and Rebecca Wallace to discuss how tough on crime types shape Colorado criminal justice policy. From the outside looking in, one could be forgiven for thinking that Colorado is one of the most progressive states in the country. After all, it was one of the few places in America that broke towards the left in the 2024 election. Despite the complete control of the government by the Democratic party, Colorado still pursues tough on crime policies. Today, Hunter and guests try and explain how that happens. Guest: Kyle Giddings, Deputy Director, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition Rebecca Wallace, Policy Director, Colorado Freedom Fund Resources: CFF Website and Policy Pages https://www.coloradofreedomfund.org/denver-muni-reform-toolkit https://www.coloradofreedomfund.org/2026-legislation CCJRC Website https://www.ccjrc.org/ ** Correction. During the episode, Hunter stated that the report by Dustin Zvonek was shared in the Denver Post. It was actually shared via Denver 7 ABC. The article is linked below** ABC 7 Reporting on Housing First https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/colorado-ranks-among-top-10-states-for-homelessness-driven-by-drugs-not-housing-costs Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home **** ALL OPINONS SHARED BY HOST HUNTER PARNELL DO NOT REFLECT THE THOUGHTS OR OPINIONS OF THE AURORA MUNICIPAL PUBLIC DEFENDER****

Today, Hunter was joined by René Ropac of the Data Collaborative for Justice to discuss their newest report on the impacts, or lack thereof, of New York's bail reforms. Guest: René Ropac, Senior Research Associate, Data Collaborative for Justice Resources: Read the Report https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/work/bail-reform/examining-the-impact-of-eliminating-bail-on-recidivism-in-the-new-york-city-suburbs-and-upstate-regions-a-difference-in-differences-study/ Contact Rene https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/staff/rene-ropac/ Learn More about DCJ https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/ Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter was joined by three people, Maggie Bott, Brandon Garcia, and Bob Kolstad, who have lived through the federal occupation of Minneapolis. They join the show to detail what ICE, CBP, and DHS have been doing in the city and how the city has organized and resisted those efforts. Guest: Brandon Garcia, Policy Aide to City Council President Elliot Page, Minneapolis, Minnesota Maggie Bott, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota Bob Kolstad, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota Resources: Mutual Aid to Minnesota https://www.standwithminnesota.com/ https://defend612.com/ Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter spoke with Matthew Guariglia, a historian, scholar, and author of the book Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York. In it, Matthew walks the read through the early history of the New York Police Department. By learning this history, the hope is that people understand what some of the essential characteristics of American policing are. Hopefully by understanding the essential characteristics, people can fully understand how and why police operate they way they do. Guest: Matthew Guariglia, Historian, Scholar, Author, Police and the Empire City: Race and the Origins of Modern Policing in New York Resources: Contact and Read more from Matthew Here https://www.matthewguariglia.com/ https://bsky.app/profile/mguariglia.bsky.social https://www.instagram.com/mguarig/ https://www.eff.org/about/staff/dr-matthew-guariglia-0 Pick up a Copy of the Book Here https://www.dukeupress.edu/police-and-the-empire-city Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter spoke w/Stacey Lowe, Executive Director of the Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services. They discussed why Stacey joined Shannon Wilson's lawsuit challenging the new contract conditions put in place by the Oregon Public Defense Commission. Guest: Stacey Lowe, Executive Director, Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services Resources: SWOPDS https://swopds.org/ Contact Stacey slowe@swopds.org Read More About the Suit https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2025/11/15/court-opdc-marion-county-public-defenders-contract/87279929007/ https://www.pdmarion.org/information-for-the-media https://kobi5.com/news/top-stories/southern-oregon-public-defense-success-clouded-by-quota-lawsuit-288302/ OPDC Response "We are unable to comment on pending litigation, but for questions about workload standards, I refer you to pages 20-22 (pages 26-28 in the search) of our recent status report. The section on long-term planning describes our goal of transitioning to a workload model. For questions about contracts, I encourage you to visit our website, where you can find the following information: Contracts for 2025-2027 Contracts for 2023-2025 A timeline of the contracting process, which included soliciting contractors' feedback on draft contracts through online feedback forms. We also held informational sessions for contractors. Our responses to questions that public defense providers asked while reviewing drafts of the contracts. Maximum attorney caseloads (MAC) – Click on Contracts 2023-2025 and scroll down to "What are the Maximum Attorney Caseloads under the 2023-25 contracts?" OPDC's contracts are based on maximum attorney caseloads. The MAC standards in the 2025-2027 contracts are identical to those that were in the 2023-2025 contracts. The MAC standards can be found in Exhibit B of the 2025-2027 contracts. They are listed on page 19 under the section titled Rolling Annual Caseload Limits. They are listed on page B-1 under Annual Caseload Limits in the 2023- 2025 contracts." Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter spoke w/Shannon Wilson and Stephen Hanlon. Last fall, Shannon, the Executive Director of the Marion County Public Defender, filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Public Defense Commission to challenge new requirements in Oregon Public Defender contracts. Now, Shannon and Stephen join the show to explain why and what comes next for Oregon Public Defense. Guest: Shannon Wilson, Executive Director, Marion County Public Defender, Oregon Stephen Hanlon, Public Interest Lawyer Resources: Contact Shannon https://www.pdmarion.org/shannon-wilson Read More About the Suit https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2025/11/15/court-opdc-marion-county-public-defenders-contract/87279929007/ https://www.pdmarion.org/information-for-the-media (The hearing can be found here!!) https://kobi5.com/news/top-stories/southern-oregon-public-defense-success-clouded-by-quota-lawsuit-288302/ Contact Stephen https://lawyerhanlon.com/ Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Emily Galvin Almanza, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Partners for Justice and author of a new book, The Price of Mercy. In it, Emily expertly weaves together stories from her decades of work in Public Defense with social science that shows the benefits of non-carceral solutions to public safety issues. Guest: Emily Galvin Almanza, Author, The Price of Mercy, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Partners for Justice Resources: Pick up a Copy of the Book!! https://www.emilygalvinalmanza.com/ Follow Emily on Social Media https://x.com/GalvinAlmanza https://bsky.app/profile/galvinalmanza.bsky.social Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter was joined by Luke Brownfield, the Chief Public Defender in Humboldt County, California. With a shortage of attorneys willing to come to the county and the county being short on funding, Luke and his team face serious issues with workloads. Without more support from the state, it is unclear how Luke and his team will tackle the workload crisis without going unavailable like the San Francisco Public Defender Office. Guest: Luke Brownfield, Chief Public Defender, Humboldt County, California Resources: Read the Report https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2025/jul/31/public-defenders-office-overworked-underfunded-and/ Contact the Office https://humboldtgov.org/Directory/Home/DepartmentListing?DID=22 Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter was joined by Judyanne Vallado, the Chief Public Defender in San Joaquin County, California. With a tough on crime DA and large amounts of gun crime, the San Joaquin County Public Defenders have long delt with difficult workloads, but now, with Prop 36 prosecutions increasing felony charges, the office may soon have to make the choice about when enough is enough. Guest: Judyanne Vallado, Chief Public Defender, San Joaquin County, California Resources: Learn more about the Office Here https://www.sjgov.org/department/pubdef/home https://www.instagram.com/sjcpublicdefender/?hl=en Contact Judyanne jvallado@sjgov.org Read more about issues in the County https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/politics/government/2024/11/27/stockton-declares-local-homelessness-emergency-toughens-camping-ban/76490580007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z118989d00----v118989b0089xxd118965&gca-ft=101&gca-ds=sophi https://www.sjgov.org/department/bos/board-news/board-news-detail/2025/09/10/sjc-board-and-probation-celebrate-sj-cares Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Alameda County Chief Public Defender Brendon Woods. This time, they discuss how the office is handling their ever increasing workload due to Prop 36, how ICE enforcement is impacting their clients and communities, and why the state of California desperately needs to give county public defenders the protections they need to be independent voices for their communities. Guest: Brendon Woods, Chief Public Defender, Alameda County, California Resources: Learn more about the Office Here https://publicdefender.acgov.org/index.page https://www.facebook.com/AlamedaCountyPublicDefenders https://x.com/BrendonWoodsPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO6d0gC0y1H5hrdkstpIt_Q https://www.instagram.com/alamedacountypd/ https://www.instagram.com/brendonwoodspd/?hl=en ICE Around Alameda County https://www.ktvu.com/news/alameda-countys-new-order-could-effectively-ban-armed-ice-officers-from-courthouses https://oaklandside.org/2026/01/28/ice-free-zones-are-coming-to-alameda-county/ Public Defender Independence https://davisvanguard.org/2025/10/sb485-veto-public-defender-independence/ Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome Contact Hunter Parnell: Publicdefenseless@gmail.com Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com Subscribe to the Patreon www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home