Author’s copies arrived. New readers are excited (although Pretzel liked the box more than the books). #BookSky
Still 30% off preorder (code NYUAU30) nyupress.org/978147983829...
If you are not listening to the
@pdefenselesspod.bsky.social podcast you are missing out, and not just because this time he is discussing “Your Data Will Be Used Against You.” #BookSky #PublicDefense #Law
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
New case on public defender caseload refusal: In State Public Defender v. Iowa Dist Ct for Scott Cty, Iowa Supreme Ct held that when local office represents, after consideration of staffing and caseloads, that it is ethically unable to accept additional appointments, courts must be deferential. /1
Here's my conversation with @pdefenselesspod.bsky.social about criminal discovery and the "shadow" (👻👻!) cast by the moribund constitutional Brady doctrine.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4...
Public defense is a calling—and a craft. Michigan Law’s MDefenders program trains student defenders to be client-centered, zealous advocates who can raise the level of representation wherever they go. michigan.law.umich.edu/mdefenders
DHS claimed "an ICE agent had fired 'defensive shots' into Martinez's vehicle after Martinez 'intentionally ran over' another agent."
But body cam video now "shows that Martinez's vehicle, a blue Ford Fusion, was stationary or going at a very low rate of speed when he was fatally shot."
Drones in Santa Fe. Folks might want to read “Your Data Will Be Used Against You” as you make your choices about whether to continue the program.
www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_n...
Today, I spoke w/Frayla Tarpinian, the Executive Director of the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services, about how an impending budget shortfall could lead to disaster for Public Defense in the state.
open.spotify.com/episode/4v7A...
ICE has arrested and detained a Nashville journalist who reported stories critical of ICE. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has been seeking asylum here after fleeing death threats in Colombia because of her journalism there.
They’ve already sent her to Louisiana.
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...
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...
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.
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
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!!
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
Your data will be used against you.
www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
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:
