Public Defenseless Podcast
@pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
4.1K followers 240 following 170 posts
Podcast covering issues in Public Defense, Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, and what we can do to improve our criminal legal system
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
injusticewatch.org
🎧 Tune in to @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social to hear senior reporter @danhinkel.bsky.social discuss his latest investigation of the Cook County Conviction Integrity Unit. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4...
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w/Dan Hinkel, a senior reporter w/
@injusticewatch.org. We discussed his reporting about how Cook County's new State Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke hallowed out the Conviction Integrity Unit leaving the wrongfully convicted with fewer paths to justice

open.spotify.com/episode/5FdI...
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w/Miami-Dade County Chief Public Defender Carlos Martinez. We discussed how immigration enforcement is affecting their clients, how they've gotten their workloads under control, and how the expansion of the death penalty could upend that progress.

spotify.link/cEXdiu0otXb
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
boltsmag.org
Chicago’s new chief prosecutor has expanded a rule forcing people with convictions to choose between having their convictions reviewed by prosecutors or pressing their case in court. Excerpts say it could discourage people from making innocence claims.
Exonerations Grind to a Halt Under Chicago’s New Prosecutor
Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has weakened her office’s already broken system for freeing the innocent, even as allegations of coercion mount against a former Chicago detective.
boltsmag.org
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
mguariglia.bsky.social
Axon is one of the biggest provider of police tech in the country and they are staking a lot on their AI product.

Now that the ink is dry on S.B.524, if police in California use their report writing tool as it comes out of box without additional retention practices, they will be breaking the law.
Victory! California Requires Transparency for AI Police Reports
California Governor Newsom has signed SB 524, making California the second state to take an important first step toward regulating AI police reports.
www.eff.org
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the Montana State Public Defender annual conference. I sat down with 7 OSPD PDs to discuss how enforcing workload standards changed the culture and the future of Montana Public Defense.

spotify.link/6Wt3pbNCrXb
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
radleybalko.bsky.social
Immigration raids in Nashville have made crime victims afraid to cooperate with police and seek counseling.

tennesseelookout.com/2025/10/08/i...
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
nacdl.org
Post 1/5
Nation's Defense Bar Condemns Apparent Politicization of Justice in the Letitia James Indictment.

NACDL "unequivocally condemns the federal indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James," calling it an "untenable breach of institutional independence."
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w/Dean Jenny Roberts, Dean of Hofstra law, about her article "Defense Lawyering in the Progressive Prosecution Era." She details the challenges and opportunities defense lawyers face when there is a progressive prosecutor in their jurisdiction.

open.spotify.com/episode/0svI...
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
mguariglia.bsky.social
🚨🚨 Both the police and Flock's defense for why Texas police searched the entire country for License Plate Reader data to find woman who had self-administered an abortion was because she was a missing person and family was concerned with her health. Now documents reveal they wanted to charge her.
Police Said They Surveilled Woman Who Had an Abortion for Her 'Safety.' Court Records Show They Considered Charging Her With a Crime
Court records show that the narrative Flock and a Texas Sheriff's Office has told the public isn't the whole story, and that police were conducting a 'death investigation' into the abortion.
www.404media.co
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
If you want to learn about the dangers of AI generated police reports, read @profferguson.bsky.social's law review article below and then check out the last time he joined the show!

open.spotify.com/episode/5Ooc...
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w @joshuaclarkdavis.bsky.social about his new book, Police Against the Movement. Joshua recounts how local police infiltrated, surveilled, & sabotaged civil rights orgs, how those orgs fought back, & what it means for modern police reform movements

open.spotify.com/episode/1IVv...
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w Prof Shira Diner. She detailed why the Massachusetts private criminal defense lawyers handling 80% of the state's Public Defender cases stopped taking new cases in May, the state's response, and what's next for Mass Public Defense

open.spotify.com/episode/3cEG...
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
radleybalko.bsky.social
I've been writing about the war on drugs for more than 20 years. There are some cases that have stuck with me -- names that have never left my head. For the last couple years, I've been working with The Intercept on a podcast to tell their stories. It launches in a week.
Introducing Collateral Damage | Collateral Damage from The Intercept
The Intercept is launching a new podcast series reported and hosted by investigative journalist Radley Balko.
shows.acast.com
pdefenselesspod.bsky.social
Today, I spoke w/Caneel Fraser and Tatyana Kaplan of California's Office of the State Public Defender. They joined to explain a report they recently released detailing how California's prosecutors get billions more than Public Defenders in funding.

open.spotify.com/episode/061d...
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
suzannesmalley.bsky.social
3 companies are peddling AI products which synthesize evidence for police + prosecutors. Critics are alarmed by the new AI use case, cite potential for exculpatory evidence to be overlooked + errors to be introduced. AI shouldn't be used to put people in jail they say
therecord.media/law-enforcem...
Law enforcement is using AI to synthesize evidence. Is the justice system ready for it?
Busy law enforcement agencies are trying out AI platforms that process large amounts of evidence to help officers build cases. Experts say there are potential dangers for everyone involved.
therecord.media
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
jennburrill.bsky.social
Feds failure to pay defense lawyers...

"Panel attorneys are forced to lay off staff, forgo essential case resources such as investigators and experts, and even stop taking CJA cases altogether. As a result, the accused will be deprived of a complete defense, court backlogs will grow"

By @nacdl.org
NACDL - News Release ~ Criminal Justice Act Payment Delays
New Report Showcases Impact of Criminal Justice Act Payment Delays on Defense Attorneys; Criminal Legal System– Washington, DC (Sep. 25, 2025) – A report from the National Association of C...
www.nacdl.org
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
mguariglia.bsky.social
I spent the week at the police surveillance convention and let me tell you my biggest observation: The name of the game now is consolidating as much information as humanely possible from surveillance devices, the internet, other governmental data, and literally a million other places. 🧵
Reposted by Public Defenseless Podcast
radleybalko.bsky.social
New from me at The Intercept:

Long sentences, ending bail reform, and more executions won't prevent crimes like the murder of Iryna Zarutska. Fixing the destructive way criminal legal system treats mentally ill people could.

Unfortunately, the right wants more of the former, and mocks the latter.
GOP Reviving Executions for Iryna Zarutska’s Murder, but Rolling Back Reforms Won’t Prevent These Crimes
The far right proposed turning back the clock on lots of criminal justice reforms to prevent similar crimes, but not the change that might work.
theintercept.com