Send us a Text Message. The right to counsel in criminal cases is, by now well established in a series of United States Supreme Court precedents. And yet, local jurisdictions have for too long found themselves under-resourced, and out-gunned in their quest to provide not just constitutionally sufficient and competent representation, but excellent representation-free of charge to indigent criminal defendants. Pennsylvania, until recently in December 2023, was one of only two states in the nation, the other being South Dakota,  that provided no state support for local public defenders offic ..read more

Send us a Text Message. Confessions by criminal defendants are regarded as the most powerful evidence of guilt. So why would an innocent person confess to a crime they did not commit? That question and the troubling issue of false confessions is at the heart of the research of Professor Saul Kassin, the author of Duped: Why Innocent People Confess – and Why We Believe Their Confessions. Professor Kassin is the distinguished Professor of Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Professor Emeritus at Williams College. He is regarded as the foremost expert on false confessions ..read more

Send us a Text Message. The prospect of long-term solitary confinement, being housed alone in custody for months and sometimes even years, is daunting for criminal defendants and their counsel. In May 2023, two public interest organizations, The Italian Association Antigone and the Israeli organization, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, proposed the International Guiding Statement on Alternatives to Solitary Confinement. We are pleased to have with us two guests: Professor Keramet Reiter & Oneg Ben Dror. Professor Reiter is a member of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at th ..read more

Send us a Text Message. The prospect of long-term solitary confinement, being housed alone in custody for months and sometimes even years, is daunting for criminal defendants and their counsel. In May 2023, two public interest organizations, The Italian Association Antigone and the Israeli organization, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, proposed the International Guiding Statement on Alternatives to Solitary Confinement. We are pleased to have with us two guests: Professor Keramet Reiter & Oneg Ben Dror. Professor Reiter is a member of the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at th ..read more

Our guest is Professor Lucian Dervan, the founding Director of the Plea Bargaining Institute and a Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, TN.  Professor Dervan is co-chair of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section Plea Bargaining Taskforce and co-author of the forthcoming book, "The Cost of Bargains: Reflections and Recommendations" from the Section's Plea Bargaining Task Force. Read the Fourteen Principles and a Path Forward for Plea Bargaining Reform, by Lucian E. Dervan here Read the ABA CJS Plea Bargaining Task Force ..read more

Our guest is Professor Lucian Dervan, the founding Director of the Plea Bargaining Institute and a Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University College of Law in Nashville, TN.  Professor Dervan is co-chair of the ABA's Criminal Justice Section Plea Bargaining Taskforce and co-author of the forthcoming book, "The Cost of Bargains: Reflections and Recommendations" from the Section's Plea Bargaining Task Force. Read the Fourteen Principles and a Path Forward for Plea Bargaining Reform, by Lucian E. Dervan here Read the ABA CJS Plea Bargaining Task Force ..read more

Larry Krasner is a former criminal defense and civil rights lawyer who has become one of the most high profile inner city District Attorneys to lead the city prosecutor’s office of any major city. He has made waves for his controversial—and some would say progressive—policy positions on hot button issues like mass incarceration, decriminalization of minor drug possession, police misconduct, and wrongful convictions. He was first elected as District Attorney for Philadelphia in 2017 and re-elected in 2021, after running his own criminal defense firm, where he brought over 75 civil suits against ..read more

It takes about 3 hours to drive from Greenwich, Connecticut to the Federal Correctional Institution,  Allenwood Low in Pennsylvania. Jeffery D. Grant knows this because he took that drive on an Easter Sunday in 2006. A lawyer whose life has taken a wrong turn on  the road to addiction, Jeff Grant left the upscale life he had cultivated in Connecticut to enter what would be his new home for the duration of his 18-month Federal criminal sentence. The story of his rise, fall, and redemption is recounted in an article by Evan Osnos in The New Yorker. Jeff Grant has also been featured in ..read more

Our guests have spent their careers advocating for some of the most vulnerable citizens in our country's legal system-our nation's children. Kristin Henning is the Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic Initiative at Georgetown Law School and the author of "The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth". Marsha Levick is the co-founder and Chief Legal Officer of the Juvenile Law Center, which has been advocating for young people's rights for nearly 50 years.  ..read more

In this episode, Joe Whitley and Lynsey Barron discuss corporate monitorships with Ling-Ling Nie,  who is the Deputy General Counsel, Chief Compliance & ESG Officer, Head of Government Affairs at Aura and Scott Marrah, Partner at White Collar Criminal Defense & Internal Investigations  at Kilpatrick Townsend.  ..read more