Major funding for this podcast has been provided by Public Welfare Foundation and the Pulitzer Center.

Hey, all, this is episode five of a five-part series. If you didn't start from the beginning, trust me. It's going to make a lot more sense if you stop right here and go back to episode one.

It's a Friday morning in June at the public defender's office in St. Louis, Missouri.

Please proceed to the nearest exit and leave the building.

The fire alarm is blaring, but nobody's moving.

Everyone's just quietly going about their business.

Someone shuts the door so they don't have to hear it.

The alarm is going off because below this office, someone in the county jail has pulled it.

It happens a lot.

And the public defenders have gotten used to it.

I mean, if there is actually a real emergency,

sometimes the St. Louis County Police will actually walk through the building and clear the building.

That's Stephen Reynolds.

He's the head public defender in this office. Do you see this at all as a metaphor for your office?

I know where you're going, but no. I think there are two separate issues.

I mean, you kind of have alarms going off constantly and you just kind of ignore them.

I wouldn't say that we ignore the issues in our office.

I would say we're put in a position of triaging, which we're not supposed to do.

There's been a fire reported in the building.

I'm literally just cold calling in the courtroom, like John, Bob, anybody?

Hi, I'm your lawyer.

The lady at the grocery store knows me probably better.

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