86: The Resurrection of New York Public Defense w/Patricia Warth

Public Defenseless · Jan 26, 2023 · 1h 20m

For decades, activists, scholars, and attorneys decried the state of public defense in New York. Report after report uncovered a broken system that underpaid public defenders and contact attorneys alike as the state shirked its responsibility to adequately support the counties in their effort to provide counsel to the poor. Even after a landmark study, mandated by the state's chief justice, it would take another decade and a lawsuit from the NYCLU, to finally start the process toward reform.

For much of her career, today's guest zealously advocated for poor clients facing the death penalty…