Public Defenseless

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:                                
[email protected] 
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
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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:                                
[email protected] 
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
[email protected]
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:                                
[email protected] 
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:                                
[email protected] 
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 once again with Rob Poggenklass and Bryan Kennedy from Justice Forward Virginia. Last year, Justice Forward Virginia joined the show to discuss the 2025 criminal justice policies being floated in Virginia. Today, Rob and Bryan are here to discuss what the 2026 legislative session has in store for criminal justice reform in Virginia, and how things might be different now that the Dems control all three branches of government. 
 
Guest
Rob Poggenklass, Executive Director, Justice Forward Virginia
Bryan Kennedy, Public Defender, Fairfax County, Treasurer, Justice Forward Virginia
 
Resources:
Justice Forward Virginia 2026 Legislative Priorities
https://justiceforwardva.com/issues-2 
Justice Forward Virginia Socials
https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForwardVa
https://x.com/justicefwdva 
https://www.instagram.com/justicefwdva
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDC0qXV1Mbx27ibJXgy28uQ 
 
Sign up for the ABA Public Defender Summit
https://events.americanbar.org/event/12d07164-1011-4723-9352-e8e3168db945/welcome
 
Contact Hunter Parnell:                                
[email protected] 
Instagram
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
Twitter                                                                
@PDefenselessPod
www.publicdefenseless.com 
Subscribe to the Patron
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