Episode 11: Public Defense

Justice In America

The Appeal

News, Politics, Prison, Law, Criminal, Justice, Jail, History, Education, Incarceration, America

4.8 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2019

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On our first episode of season 2, we talk about one of the most important players in the criminal justice system – the public defender. What does it mean to be a public defender in America? Why do we have the right to counsel? And why is it important that all people have access to a zealous advocate, even those who may be guilty of serious crimes? We discuss all of this on this week’s episode.

We also talk to Jon Rapping, the founder and President of Gideon’s Promise and a leader in the field of public defense. He and his wife started Gideon’s Promise with the goal of providing training, resources, and community for public defenders across the nation. The organization was the subject of the 2013 HBO documentary Gideon’s Promise, and Jon received the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2014. He talks to us about why he began this organization, the continued challenges, and the fundamental importance of public defenders in the lives of their clients.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The calls I get the most from our young lawyers are calls where people just feel like everyone in the system wants them to process human beings and
0:15.8	they're trying to figure out how they resist that pressure.
0:19.2	Sometimes they say, am I the one who's crazy because I'm insisting that we have this hearing I'm
0:24.8	insisting that we address this motion or that we deal with this legal issue and
0:30.1	it takes mentors and it takes a supportive community to remind them.
0:34.4	You're not crazy at all. That's exactly what your clients deserve.
0:38.4	You're in a system that has come to expect less and you're part of an effort to change that system.
0:44.0	What's going on everybody?
0:49.0	What's going on everybody?
0:50.0	Good to be back for season two.
0:52.0	In case you forgot, I'm Clint Smith.
0:54.0	And I'm Josie Duffy Rice.
0:55.8	And this is Justice in America.
0:57.7	Each show we discuss a topic in the American criminal justice system
1:00.9	and try to explain what it is and how it works.
1:03.0	Thank you everyone for joining us today and joining us for season two.
1:07.0	You can find us on Twitter at Justice Underscore Podcast.
1:10.0	You can like our Facebook page.
1:12.0	You can just find us at Justice in America and please subscribe and rate us on iTunes.
1:16.6	We'd love to hear from you.
1:18.2	So yes, we're back.
1:19.2	We're super hyped to be back.
	...

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