Public Defenseless Podcast

Artist in Residence Fellowship 2026 - Civil Rights Corps Civil Rights Corps is excited to announce the launch of its 2026 Artist in Residence fellowship. Each year, a groundbreaking visual artist whose work urgently confronts the subject matter of our civil...

We are opening up our amazing Artist in Residence fellowship again. If you know any formerly incarcerated artists or artists otherwise directly impacted by state repression, please share. It's an incredible opportunity with a wonderful organization. civilrightscorps.org/artist-in-re...

Florence ICE detainee dead after untreated tooth infection, official says An ICE detainee, who had been at a Florence detention center for four months, died Monday following an untreated tooth infection.

Emmanuel Damas, 56, died in ICE custody on Monday. Damas came to the US from Haiti seeking asylum. After six months in ICE custody—the last four at CoreCivic's Florence Correctional Center—he died from complications from a tooth infection, according to ICE. A tooth infection. He's death number nine.

Additionally, @rebeccawallace.bsky.social described some of the positive reforms that might be coming to Colorado's municipal court system and the state's cruel, senseless effort to solve homelessness through incarceration

open.spotify.com/episode/6QbR...

Today, I spoke w @rebeccawallace.bsky.social of @cofreedomfund.bsky.social & Kyle Giddings of @ccjrc.bsky.social to explain how Colorado's conservative, tough on crime coalition influences CO's criminal justice policy despite the dems controlling all 3 branches.

open.spotify.com/episode/6QbR...

CBP Tapped Into the Online Advertising Ecosystem To Track Peoples’ Movements An internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media shows for the first time CBP used location data sourced from the online advertising industry to track phone locations. ICE has bought access to similar t...

SCOOP: An internal DHS document obtained by 404 Media shows for the first time CBP used location data sourced from the online advertising industry to track phone locations.

This surveillance can happen through all sorts of apps, such as video games, news apps, weather trackers, and dating apps.

I wrote a very long report about how public defenders are constantly underfunded that delves into the ongoing debates within the legal community about how to ensure that people charged with crimes are offered high quality representation.

This report does a fantastic job of documenting a ridiculous crisis - there are only two ways out, arrest fewer people or hire more public defenders. Jdxs are going to have to do one or the other and continuing to drag their feet is only going to make the situation worse.

NYPD Still Illegally Stopping New Yorkers 12 Years After Court Ruling, Monitor Finds Illegal stops, missing paperwork and weak discipline remain widespread despite federal oversight.

Twelve years later, the NYPD is still not in compliance with the court orders from Floyd v. New York, the lawsuit that found the city's stop-and-frisk practices unconstitutional (by @reuvenblau.bsky.social, @thecity.nyc) www.thecity.nyc/2026/02/26/n...

Counter point: go read some of the comments on my DHS posts. People be saying wiiiiiiiilllldd stuff

Today, I spoke w/Maggie Bott and Bob Kolstad, Hennepin County Public Defenders, and Brandon Garcia, a policy aide to Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Paige to discuss how the people of Minneapolis organized to resist DHS's occupation of the city.

open.spotify.com/episode/2Qf9...

Drug and alcohol testing is almost always a condition of probation. For most, this doesn't aid rehabilitation - it can be detrimental to it. Use this brief to urge the court to take a more individualized approach to your client's supervision! datafordefenders.org/wp-content/u...

The House has passed * HB637 Eliminate Felony Charge for Possession of Drug Residue * HB246 Protect People with ID/DD and Mental Health Disorders   * HB 331 Deferred Dismissals * HB1070 Eliminate the Prejudicial Use of Priors at Trial * HB245 Preserve Access to Diversion * HB118 Fix Discovery * HB127 CAFA * HB1084 VLDS * HB933 FTAs * HB244 Align Class 5 & 6 Robbery Offenses with the Rest of the Code * HB172 Allow Defendants to Withdraw Requests for Jury Sentencing and Ask Jurors About Potential Sentences * HB489 Ensure Confidentiality of Restorative Justice Practices * HB1413 Probation Fix–Uphold Reforms for Technical Violations of Probation * HB1411 Mental Health Evidence Fix * HB520 OCRA * HB441 JIRC Reform * Alt Crisis Response The Senate has passed * SB23 Ban 4A Waivers * SB335 Protect People with ID/DD and Mental Health Disorders * SB24 Fix Discovery  * SB480 VLDS * SB283 FTAs  * SB230 Reverse Bad SCOVA Expungement Cases * SB82 OCRA * Alt Crisis Response

LATE & BREAKING: An epic 18.5 of 20 of Justice Forward Virginia’s CJR legislative priorities have passed one chamber of the VA General Assembly and are headed to the other chamber at Crossover! Let’s go!!! You can see a detailed breakdown here justiceforwardva.com/2026-priorit... #VALeg

ICE says Cuban detainee’s death from use of force His death is the first homicide in ICE custody in recent history, experts said. It comes after the deadliest year in ICE detention in decades and six deaths in six weeks at Texas facilities.

The official ICE explanation: the detainee was murdered in order to prevent him from committing suicide. ICE officials this week reported that the death of a 55-yr-old Cuban man at the El Paso concentration camp was the result of the staff’s “spontaneous use of force” to “prevent harm.””

This was a great conversation about how the changes made to policing between 1898 and 1920 gave us the modern world.

Today, I spoke w/ @mguariglia.bsky.social about his book Police and the Empire City. In it, Matthew details the early history of the New York Police Department. By understanding this history, we can better understand why the modern NYPD operates as it does.

open.spotify.com/episode/70E3...

Thanks for tagging! Looks really interesting!!

Public Defender Training Institute | University of Michigan Law School

Future public defenders: There’s an intensive, skills-based immersion into indigent defense at Michigan Law—taught by current/former defenders (plus alumni in the field). To learn more, check out michigan.law.umich.edu/public-defen.... #PublicDefense #MichiganLaw

Trump Administration Will Collect Social Media Handles from Legal Immigrants and U.S. Citizens The new requirement poses serious threats to free speech and privacy rights.

Your data will be used against you.

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...

White House, Minnesota Supreme Court chief justice quietly negotiated deal over ICE enforcement in courts Four days later, chaos unfolded inside the Hennepin County Government Center.

This is disturbing. The Chief Justice of the MN Supreme Ct met with Homan, worked out an agreement, and never announced it publicly. ICE appeared to violate it days later by violently tackling a person in the Gov Center w/out a judicial warrant. We need transparency.

I am running for Congress because we urgently need leaders who will stand up for our rights. We need leaders who understand that treating human beings like human beings is a moral obligation, not a political question. We need leaders who will work hard to help humanity, not serve the elite. I am a first-generation college graduate, the mom of a young daughter, a proud union member, and a public defender. I have personally experienced many of the challenges that working class people face, and I understand the urgency they demand.

SCOOP — Tom Suozzi has a Democratic primary challenger in the NY-3 congressional race.

Danielle Welch (@daniwelch.bsky.social), a public defender, has officially declared her candidacy.

Welch gave me this comment about launching her campaign:

They Were Convicted of Killing Their Abusers. A New Law Offered a Second Chance at Freedom. An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of women who killed their abusers. Why are nearly all of them still in prison?

NEW: The Victims Who Fought Back

An Oklahoma law was supposed to help reduce the sentences of women who killed their abusers.

Why are nearly all of them still in prison?

By @pamelacolloff.bsky.social

2 public defense nonprofits allowed to limit caseloads, Oregon judge rules The ruling comes on the heels of an Oregon Supreme Court decision, which said criminal defendants who aren’t given a lawyer within a certain window must have their cases dismissed.

Last year, the Oregon Public Defender Commision created a new contract that created a minimum caseload requirement for Public Defenders.

Two chief Public Defender thought this was an illegal contract, and they sued the Commision.

Yesterday, those chiefs won their case!
www.opb.org/article/2026...

Man Opposing Data Center Arrested for Speaking Slightly Too Long An Oklahoma man tried to talk about a data center coming to his community. Police arrested him when he went a few seconds over his time limit.

a man in Oklahoma was speaking out against a data center in his community. He went a few seconds over time and the city had him arrested for trespassing

How ICE, THP targeted Nashville immigrants, inflated safety claims - Nashville Banner Analysis shows Tennessee state troopers and ICE agents profiled and disparaged immigrants during Nashville enforcement operation in May 2025.

INVESTIGATION: Over the last 5 months, the Banner and a coalition of partners analyzed 52 hours of footage and thousands of pages of documents from a joint THP/ICE operation targeting Nashville’s predominantly immigrant neighborhoods. Here’s what we found: (1/11)

✍️ @sarahgracetaylor.bsky.social

Today, I spoke w Stacey Lowe, Exec Dir of the Southwest Oregon Public Defender Services. We discussed why she felt she had no choice but to join the lawsuit against the Oregon Public Defense Commission.

open.spotify.com/episode/2Qf9...

Smart Devices Are Surveillance Devices: An Interview with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, author of Your Data Will Be Used Against You - NYU Press How can we minimize the risk of being surveilled by our “smart” devices? Smart devices are surveillance devices. Full stop. That is what you are buying. There is no escape... READ MORE

If there are any podcasters or book reviewers interested in “Your Data Will Be Used Against You” this Q&A gives great insight into what the book is all about.

Check it out. #books #bookreviews

nyupress.org/blog/2026/02...

Today, I was joined by Shannon Wilson and Stephen Hanlon to try and answer one question: Why did an Oregon Public Defender sue the Oregon Public Defense Commission?

open.spotify.com/episode/5kgd...

New Report Helps Journalists Dig Deeper Into Police Surveillance Technology SAN FRANCISCO — A new report released today offers journalists tips on cutting through the sales hype about police surveillance technology and report accurately on costs, benefits, privacy, and accoun...

!! Something I've been working on for a year is finally live!!

A report from @eff.org , @justjournalism.bsky.social, and IPVM geared toward journalists but important for law makers and the general public decoding the nefarious ways police and surveillance tech gets sold, marketed, and deployed. 🧵

Savannah teacher killed in crash by man fleeing from ICE According to the Chatham County Police Department, Monday morning’s fatal crash was the result of a chase between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a suspect.

ICE killed a teacher in Georgia today when they chose to chase a man who posed no danger and had no criminal history.