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Artwork for Public Defenseless

Public Defenseless

Hunter Parnell
Criminal Justice System
Public Defense
Criminal Justice Reform
Public Defenders
Death Penalty
Mass Incarceration
Mental Health
California
Indigent Defense
Solitary Confinement
Immigration Law
Plea Bargaining
Gideon V. Wainwright
Wrongful Conviction
Colorado
Police Misconduct
Incarceration
Legislation
Participatory Defense
Artificial Intelligence

Anyone paying attention can tell you that our criminal legal system is perpetuating cruelty and harm, but the complexity of the legal world overwhelms most people simply trying to get through another day. Public Defenseless explores the rot in the justice system and what we can do about it. Join host, Hunter Parnell, as he interviews top defense attorneys and criminal justice stakeholders from acr... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes494Founded4 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
NewsPoliticsGovernment

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Artwork for Public Defenseless

Latest Episodes

Today, Hunter was joined by Colorado State Senator Julie Gonzales. Senator Gonzales was instrumental in shaping Colorado's progressive immigration policies. She is running against Senator John Hickenlooper in the Democratic primary for Colorado's Sen... more

Today, Hunter was joined by long time criminal defense lawyer Jim Castle. Jim is here to help people understand the legal ethics related to workload limits and to explain where the Office of the State Public Defender gets these ethics wrong.

Guest:... more

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Travis Weiner, the former Colorado Public Defender who is suing the Colorado Public Defender System. On a previous episode, Travis detailed that he sued the state because he believed that OSPD retaliated against... more

Today, Hunter shared the results of unfair labor complaint against the Colorado State Public Defender system.

Guest:

Resource:

Google Drive with Relevant Documents

drive.google.com/drive/folders/1poeBD8pjrxLaMDTaCgN1lX12n3NKE0h5?usp... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Sara McCarthy
Chief Assistant Public Defender, Santa Clara County
Santa Clara Public Defender's Office
Episode: 479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Matthew Thiese
Researcher/ Epidemiologist contributing to the wellness study design
University/Research
Episode: 479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Aaron Gottlieb
Associate Professor at Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice
University of Chicago
Episode: 478 | The Effect of Public Defender and Support Staff Caseloads on Incarceration Outcomes for Felony Defendants w/Aaron Gottlieb and Melissa Mahabir
Melissa Mahabir
Social worker and former mitigation specialist
Public defender ecosystem (Legal Aid Society experience mentioned)
Episode: 478 | The Effect of Public Defender and Support Staff Caseloads on Incarceration Outcomes for Felony Defendants w/Aaron Gottlieb and Melissa Mahabir
Jane Fox
Staff at the Legal Aid Society, unit chair with ALAA Local 2325
Legal Aid Society / ALAA Local 2325
Episode: 476 | What Can Public Defender Organizations Do to Help People With Their Student Debt? w/Jane Fox and Alexi Shalom
Alexi Shalom
Education Representative for UAW Region 9A
UAW Region 9A
Episode: 476 | What Can Public Defender Organizations Do to Help People With Their Student Debt? w/Jane Fox and Alexi Shalom
David Seligman
Executive Director of Towards Justice
Towards Justice
Episode: 474 | The Lawyer Who Will Take on Corporations and Corrupt Government as Colorado's Attorney General w/David Seligman
John Gross
Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin School of Law
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Law School
Episode: 473 | Public Defenders Should Tell the Courts and Their Clients How Many Cases they Have w/John Gross
Kristine Almquist
Candidate for position 14, Multnomah County judge
Candidate for Multnomah County Position 14
Episode: 472 | Can Former Public Defenders Improve the Bench in Multnomah County, Oregon? w/Kristine Almquist, Joe Hagedorn, Peter Klym, Joanna Perini-Abott, Chris Behre

Host

Hunter Parnell
Host of Public Defenseless; focuses on criminal justice reform and public defense issues; aims to surface practical solutions.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 196 ratings
  • Great coverage of an important issue

    I’m a California law student interested in working in the criminal justice system, unsure on which side but learning about and listening to various public defender issues is really eye opening. Hunter does a great job with all of his interviews.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Person24
    United States4 days ago
  • Well, worth giving it a listen

    As a choir member“ I often very much enjoy the topics of discussion and it is almost always delivered with good preaching and that’s just what you need in times like these when you know that the choir are the only people who you’re going to convince to sing.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    iPaul-Pro
    United States2 months ago
  • Great show.

    Keep it up.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    PJ Barker
    United States8 months ago
  • Exposes Criminal Abuses

    Public Defenseless details how the presumption of innocence is fiction in courtrooms across the country.

    While we supposedly have the right to a trial by a jury of our peers, defendants who are largely Black and Latino men, are compelled to take pleas or face lengthy, painful incarceration.

    The American justice system as revealed by Public Defenseless is so deeply broken and must be reformed.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    rachelm1972
    United Statesa year ago
  • Shedding Light Where It Needs to Be Shed

    As a former Colorado public defender (and still indigent criminal defense attorney), I’m biased in favor of the excellent coverage of issues in Colorado, including the crisis in our state public defender system and the horrors unfolding in municipal courts.

    But I also love every episode from elsewhere in the country. It’s so easy for us to be in our silos and forget that there are hundreds of other offices out there facing similar challenges and coming up with innovative solutions. This podcast... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    drewmm10
    United Statesa year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Insightful, rigorous coverage of public defense and reform.
Covers underreported issues with real-world impact.
Listeners appreciate the practical takeaways and guest expertise.
Strong advocacy voice with credible, evidence-based discussion.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Apple Podcasts
#66
United States/Government

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Q: How can these findings translate into real-world changes for public defenders?
Researchers aim to produce concrete recommendations for individuals and organizations, including leadership practices and structural changes like workload management, training, and resource allocation, to improve wellbeing and client outcomes.
479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Q: How are we going to study this? What is the framework and what makes it different than prior work?
The study uses a rigorous, federally comparable framework with strong confidentiality, designed to capture a wide range of variables from depression and burnout to resilience and thriving, enabling cross-population comparisons and evaluation of potential interventions.
479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Q: What is Phase 2 setting out to do? Tell us a little bit about it.
Phase 2 expands outreach, broadens participant categories (including non-traditional public defenders and rural offices), and uses IRB-approved methods to collect comprehensive data on mental health, burnout, and thriving factors, with an emphasis on actionable outcomes and comparisons to other working populations.
479 | What Data Tells Us About the Public Defender Well Being Crisis Part 2 w/Jenny Andrews, Matthew Thiese, and Sara McCarthy
Q: Tell us a couple of things. One, introduce yourself. Why did you want to do public defense? And why have you been interested in participating in the National Public Defender Wellness Study?
Sarah McCarthy describes a lifelong commitment to public defense rooted in service, trauma exposure in cases, and a drive to support the wellbeing of colleagues; Matt Thies emphasizes bringing rigorous scientific methodology to understand the mental health challenges in the profession; Jenny Andrews frames Be Sustained as a way to systemically address wellness within organizations through data-informed strategies.
478 | The Effect of Public Defender and Support Staff Caseloads on Incarceration Outcomes for Felony Defendants w/Aaron Gottlieb and Melissa Mahabir
Q: What were the main findings regarding the impact of attorney vs. support staff caseloads on outcomes like pre-trial detention and sentencing length?
Gottlieb notes that both attorney and support staff caseloads negatively impacted outcomes, with more consistent effects for support staff across outcomes and larger potential effects for attorneys when significant, especially after adjusting for capital cases; overall, increases in caseloads correlated with worse outcomes.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
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Frequently Asked Questions About Public Defenseless

What is Public Defenseless about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A hard-hitting show about criminal justice and public defense, highlighting systemic underfunding, policy reform, and the real-world impact of legal processes. Episodes frequently feature public defenders, policy advocates, researchers, and historians who dissect bail reform, mass surveillance, prosecutorial practices, and immigrant enforcement, often emphasizing practical reforms and advocacy. A standout trait is the host's focus on actionable solutions and coalition-building, making it a strong pick for listeners who want deep policy context, real-case implications, and opportunities to engage in reform conversations.

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1. U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments
2. Throughline
3. Slow Burn
4. Reveal
5. Up First from NPR

How many episodes of Public Defenseless are there?

Public Defenseless launched 4 years ago and published 494 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on Public Defenseless?

Recent guests on Public Defenseless include:

1. Sara McCarthy
2. Matthew Thiese
3. Aaron Gottlieb
4. Melissa Mahabir
5. Jane Fox
6. Alexi Shalom
7. David Seligman
8. John Gross

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