Podcasts about public counsel services

Today, Hunter was joined once again by Anthony Benedetti, Chief Counsel of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services. This time, Hunter and Anthony dive into what can be done about the low hourly rates for CPCS's contract counsel and how recent courage from the bench and the state house gives them hope that those pay increases are in fact possible.     Guest Anthony Benedetti, Chief Counsel, Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services   Resources: CPCS Website https://www.publiccounsel.net/ Listen to my first episode with Anthony Here https://open.spotify.com/episode/3OxwnFFjrC1ruJPSDFywp5?autoplay=true       Contact Hunter Parnell:                                 Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show! https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home  

Nathan Tamulis, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services, Boston teaches you how to interpret results (and knowing when to consult with an expert) from these methods and analyses, excerpted from MCLE's 4/2/2024 live webcast: Toxicology for Lawyers: Drug & Alcohol Testing. The full program is available as an on-demand webcast or an MP3 here.  Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass and start your free trial today! Connect with us on socials!Instagram: mcle.newenglandX (Formerly Twitter): MCLENewEnglandLinkedIn: Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. (MCLE│New England)Facebook: MCLE New EngalndThreads: mcle.newnengland

I recently had the privilege of interviewing retired Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Margot Botsford and Boston attorney Denise Murphy about the important work they and others have been doing to promote lawyer well-being in Massachusetts. During that interview, we talked briefly about an organization called the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS. According to its website, CPCS provides “legal representation in Massachusetts for those unable to afford an attorney in all matters in which the law requires appointment of counsel.” Those areas include criminal defense, children and family law, youth advocacy, and mental health litigation.  Our conversation inspired me to reach out to Anthony Benedetti, the Chief Counsel of CPCS, and ask him to provide an update on the work of CPCS, including its efforts to recruit and retain attorneys to perform the indispensable work with which it is charged.  Anthony had appeared on the podcast in November 2021, and I encourage anyone who is interested in an overview of CPCS to listen to that earlier episode. At my request, Anthony has now returned to the podcast to address some of the questions that came up in the lawyer well-being episode, and to discuss some of the ongoing initiatives of CPCS to support its lawyers and non-lawyer staff, and the many attorneys who handle CPCS cases as independent contractors.   The work of CPCS is vital to the Massachusetts legal system and the ability of indigent persons to secure meaningful access to justice. Whether you are a student or a lawyer who thinks they may be interested in taking on some of this important work, or simply a concerned citizen who would like to learn more about it, this episode of Higher Callings is for you.You can learn more about CPCS at its website: https://www.publiccounsel.net/

While police have touted gang and social media databases as innovative and vital public safety tools, concerns have been raised that these tools infringe on liberty and due process, and have done little more than digitize structural racism. Get insight into how evidence is being used in this podcast, excerpted from MCLE's 4/26/202 live webcast: Gang Databases & Social Media.Speakers: Joshua Raisler Cohn, Committee for Public Counsel Services, RoxburyVictoria Kelleher, Law Office of Victoria Kelleher, BostonThe full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here.  Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.

Eyewitness identification is considered one of the leading causes of wrongful conviction, accounting for more than 70 percent of exonerations revealed through DNA evidence. In this podcast, the panelists discuss the fundamentals of eyewitness identification. The full program, recorded on 10/20/21 is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.Panelists:Sarah Stancato McEvoy, Suffolk District Attorney's OfficeTara B. Burdman, Suffolk District Attorney's OfficeHon. David A. Deakin, Massachusetts Superior CourtIra L. Gant, Committee for Public Counsel Services

In 1963, in a case called Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court held for the first time that a person accused of a crime in a state court has a right to counsel secured by the United States Constitution. Before that decision, a defendant's federal constitutional right to an attorney in a criminal proceeding applied only in federal cases, by virtue of the Sixth Amendment. In Gideon, the Court applied the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause to extend the same right to state criminal cases. Ever since Gideon, when defendants in state criminal prosecutions cannot afford to hire counsel, the state is obligated to provide counsel for them.  In Massachusetts, the agency responsible to make sure that happens is the Committee for Public Counsel Services, or CPCS. The Chief Counsel for CPCS is Anthony Benedetti, an attorney who himself served as a public defender before becoming General Counsel and, in 2010, Chief Counsel of this important agency.  I recently had the privilege of interviewing Anthony for Higher Callings. In the interview, he provided a close look into some of the most significant challenges facing the agency, its key successes, and the work it has been doing in some of the most important battles of recent times, including the fight against systemic racism, the movement to defund the police, the efforts to release thousands of prisoners to avoid the spread of COVID-19 in jails, and the current crisis facing homeless citizens in the tent city in Boston known as “Mass and Cass.” I was inspired by Anthony's passion for caring for and protecting the rights of the poor who are caught up in an overburdened and often impersonal legal system, and am pleased to offer this episode of Higher Callings to shed light into the critically important work of an agency that few citizens, and even few lawyers, understand.You can find more information about CPCS at the agency's website, https://www.publiccounsel.net/The Higher Callings website can be found here: https://www.podpage.com/higher-callings/

In part 2 we meet Sonja Farak a lab tech who was sampling the samples if you know what I mean. But even worse was the wide spread attempts by state's attorney's office to convince public that it was isolated to a 4 month period and not her whole career.   To find out if your case was affected by either Ms. Dookhan or Ms. Farak, you can call a toll-free hotline operated by defense lawyers with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency in Massachusetts. The number is 888-999-2881. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that if your case has been identified for dismissal, it could take approximately 2-3 months for the relevant court records to be updated. You can check your records electronically by following this link: https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. As of May 19, 2020, all claims for relief due to an invalidated conviction as a result of the misconduct of Sonya Farak and Annie Dookhan can no longer be brought through an individual motion process.  Instead, all such relief must now be sought through the pending class action lawsuit, Stacey Foster v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al, provided that the claimant meets the criteria to qualify as a member of the class.  For information on how to obtain relief through the class action lawsuit, please contact the attorneys representing the class, as provided below:                                                                                               Luke Ryan Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose 100 Main Street, Third Floor Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 586-4800 lryan@strhlaw.com Daniel N. Marx William W. Fick Fick & Marx LLP 24 Federal Street, 4th Floor Boston, MA 02110 (857) 321-8360 dmarx@fickmarx.com wfick@fickmarx.com   We are teaming up with Db to exclusively offer our listeners 10% off your next purchase by using the code POD10 at https://bit.ly/37cP8YP The merch store is live!  https://designbyhumans.com/shop/CrimeScandal More designs to come! If you want to send a one time donation you can use venmo @Psych-Your-Crime You can reach us on Twitter and Instagram at:https://twitter.com/geekflossy Intro is Spy Story from purpleplanet.com The patreon is back up and running with 2 tiers! You can now request crimes! https://www.patreon.com/psychyourcrime

In the early 2000's 10,000's of drug cases were thrown out due to mishandling by 2 drug techs in 2 labs. This week we look at Annie Dookhan in the Boston lab. To find out if your case was affected by either Ms. Dookhan or Ms. Farak, you can call a toll-free hotline operated by defense lawyers with the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the public defender agency in Massachusetts. The number is 888-999-2881. The hotline is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please note that if your case has been identified for dismissal, it could take approximately 2-3 months for the relevant court records to be updated. You can check your records electronically by following this link: https://icori.chs.state.ma.us. As of May 19, 2020, all claims for relief due to an invalidated conviction as a result of the misconduct of Sonya Farak and Annie Dookhan can no longer be brought through an individual motion process.  Instead, all such relief must now be sought through the pending class action lawsuit, Stacey Foster v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al, provided that the claimant meets the criteria to qualify as a member of the class.  For information on how to obtain relief through the class action lawsuit, please contact the attorneys representing the class, as provided below:                                                                                               Luke Ryan Sasson, Turnbull, Ryan & Hoose 100 Main Street, Third Floor Northampton, MA 01060 (413) 586-4800 lryan@strhlaw.com Daniel N. Marx William W. Fick Fick & Marx LLP 24 Federal Street, 4th Floor Boston, MA 02110 (857) 321-8360 dmarx@fickmarx.com wfick@fickmarx.com   We are teaming up with Db to exclusively offer our listeners 10% off your next purchase by using the code POD10 at https://bit.ly/37cP8YP The merch store is live!  https://designbyhumans.com/shop/CrimeScandal More designs to come! If you want to send a one time donation you can use venmo @Psych-Your-Crime You can reach us on Twitter and Instagram at:https://twitter.com/geekflossy Intro is Spy Story from purpleplanet.com The patreon is back up and running with 2 tiers! You can now request crimes! https://www.patreon.com/psychyourcrime

What you will learn.  Our show begins with Karen discussing the breaking news of the verdict in the Chauvin murder trial (we taped the show the morning after the jury reached its guilty verdict).  Karen discusses the cognitive dissonance she feels as a criminal defense attorney, believing that the jury reached a correct and just verdict but describing the awkward tension being a defense attorney but routing for the prosecution.  Karen discusses her views on what the defense attorney did well and where she believes mistakes were made.  She talks about the decision not to put Chauvin on the witness stand.After discussing the Chauvin trial, Karen goes on to describe her background and pathway to becoming a successful criminal defense trial lawyer.  She joined the New York Legal Aid Society directly out of law school.Karen married a fellow trial lawyer, who she describes as her mentor and the best courtroom lawyer she has ever seen.Karen talks about how she initially tried to model herself on her husband's courtroom style, but later became a better lawyer when she was able to find her own voice.After trying cases for a number of years, Karen was invited to attend the National Criminal Defense College, which, at the time, was located in Macon, Georgia.  Karen describes how the curriculum in Macon was eye opening for her and taught her new a new vocabulary and approach to trying cases.  When Karen returned to the Bronx she established a trial skills program based in part on what she had learned in Macon.In her trial skills program, Karen began to develop innovative approaches to both trying cases herself and teaching trial skills.  She brought in improv actors to help lawyers improve their ability to improvise and think quickly on their feet, which is particularly important during cross examination.  She brought in storytellers to teach lawyers to become better at constructing and weaving compelling narratives. She even trained with a voice coach to improve how she used her voice in the courtroom.More recently, Karen became the Dean of the National Criminal Defense College, which has now moved its headquarters to Karen's home state of Rhode Island.  Karen also works as the Legal Training Director of the Criminal Practice at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts, where she trains lawyers in trying cases.About Karen Smolar https://www.publiccounsel.net/dir/bos-train/karen-smolar/Karen Smolar is the Legal Training Director of the Criminal Practice at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts. Before coming to the Commonwealth, she worked as a criminal defense attorney since graduating from law school in 1992. For the last 19 years, Karen was the Trial Chief at the Bronx Defenders in New York City. At CPCS, she works with the Training Unit developing and conducting legal and skills trainings for the public defenders and bar advocates across the state. She also works with other practice areas at CPCS as they conceptualize training across all practice areas. While at The Bronx Defenders, in 2007, Karen created Defenders' Academy , an national, innovative trial skills program for public and private attorneys across the nation. The program continues to this day and is the only one of its kind in the country that focuses on the intersection between trial skills and performance work and welcomes attorneys from criminal, family and civil practices.In August of 2017, Karen was appointed to become the Dean of the National Criminal Defense College after serving as a committed faculty member for over ten years. She has also taught Trial Advocacy as an adjunct professor at St. John's School of Law and Seton Hall Law School. She has lectured on various topics for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the New York State Defenders Association and other defenders offices, nationally. She has also been a guest trainer at various state-wide public defender training programs across the nation. ​About ElawvateThe Elawvate Podcast – Where Trial Lawyers Learn, Share, and Grow is where the practice of trial law meets personal growth. To succeed as a trial lawyer and build a successful law firm requires practice skills, strategic thinking and some amount of business and entrepreneurial savvy. Elawvate is a place to learn and share skills and strategies for success.But it is also a place to dig deeper and achieve personal growth.Those who succeed as trial lawyers at the highest levels cultivate character, principle, integrity, leadership, courage, compassion and perseverance. We learn and draw inspiration from those who have achieved this success.For more about Elawvate, visit our website at www.elawvate.fm.  You can also join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/398030871291513For more information or to contact the hosts, see:(Rahul Ravipudi (https://www.psblaw.com/ravipudi.html )(Ben Gideon | https://gideonasen.com/attorney-benjamin-gideon/

Join Shain Neumeier and Lydia X. Z. Brown in conversation about the connections between youth rights, disability justice, and racial justice movements in addressing coercive and forced treatment, institutionalization, and mass criminalization. They will discuss the connections between applied behavior analysis and conversion therapy, the history of the Judge Rotenberg Center's electric shock torture, and the deinstitutionalization and decarceration movements.Shain Neumeier is a lawyer, activist, and community organizer, as well as an out and proud member of the disabled, trans, queer, and asexual communities. Their passion on the issue of ending abuse and neglect of youth with disabilities in schools and treatment facilities stems from their own experiences with involuntary medical treatment and bullying, and led them to go to law school. They have pursued their goal of using legal advocacy to address these problems ever since. Shain's work appears in Autistic Activism and the Neurodiversity Movement: Stories from the Frontlines, Resistance and Hope: Crip Wisdom for the People, Rewire News, and Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking.Among other honors, they were named the Massachusetts Bar Association's Outstanding Young Lawyer in 2018, the Self Advocacy Association of New York State's Self Advocate of the Year in 2017, and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities' Leadership in Advocacy Awardee in 2015. Shain has previously worked with the Intersex and Genderqueer Recognition Project, the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, and the Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth. When not working, they're probably crafting, playing Dungeons & Dragons, listening to history podcasts, or watching Netflix with their partner and three feline roommates.Lydia X. Z. Brown is a disability justice advocate, organizer, educator, attorney, strategist, and writer whose work has largely focused on interpersonal and state violence against multiply-marginalized disabled people living at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and language. They are Policy Counsel for the Privacy and Data Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Adjunct Lecturer in Disability Studies for Georgetown University's Department of English; and Director of Policy, Advocacy, & External Affairs at the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network. They are also founder and volunteer director of the Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color's Interdependence, Survival, and Empowerment. Currently, they serve as a founding board member of the Alliance for Citizen Directed Supports, presidential appointee to the American Bar Association's Commission on Disability Rights, and chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Civil Rights & Social Justice, Disability Rights Committee.Previously, Lydia worked on disability rights and algorithmic fairness at Georgetown Law's Institute for Tech Law and Policy, served as Justice Catalyst Legal Fellow for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and worked at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network as a member of the national policy team. They are former Chairperson of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, Visiting Lecturer at Tufts University, Holley Law Fellow at the National LGBTQ Task Force, and Patricia Morrissey Disability Policy Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership. While a student, Lydia was a legal extern/student practitioner for the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, student attorney in the Prisoners' Rights Clinic, and investigative intern for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.

From an early age Hemangi knew that she wanted to devote her life to empowering marginalized people.  Growing up in Ohio, Hemangi often felt her minority voice was overlooked and ignored. Hoping to assist others who shared her minority experiences, she majored in pre- law at the University of Toledo with the intent of becoming a civil rights attorney.  While at Toledo, Pai worked closely with professors to create Law and Social Thought, an interdisciplinary program centered on the relationship between law, morality and power.  Based on her studies, she became interested in criminal law. Following her undergraduate studies, Hemangi attended Northeastern Law School focusing her attention on race and criminal law.  After graduating from law school, Hemangi worked as a Staff Attorney at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Public Defender Division, in Springfield, Massachusetts.  She took a holistic approach to lawyering by building relationships with her clients based on trust and support that went beyond the courtroom.  Hemangi worked closely with key players in the criminal justice system, including probation officers, community organizations and even judges, to find alternative resolutions to incarceration. In 2007, Hemangi moved to New York to pursue her academic interests and attended the New School for Social Research, focusing her studies on race and crime.  Shortly after, Hemangi realized her purpose was advocacy and she was better suited for the courtroom. She returned to practicing law in 2009 when she began working as an Agency Attorney for the Administration for Children's Services.  In 2011, Hemangi returned to criminal defense and began working at Brooklyn Defender Services.  She is currently a Senior Trial Attorney in the Homicide/Serious Crimes Unit. Prior to her work in this unit, Pai worked as a Senior Trial Attorney on the Brooklyn Adolescent Representation Team at BDS, where she exclusively represented youth, ages 14-24, charged with serious felonies. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Hemangi is a proud member of the Kingsboro Temple Seventh Day Adventist Church where she serves on the AY Committee. She is also a member of Spartan Sundays and Spartan Sundays running club. With the help of her Spartan family, Hemangi has completed 13 spartan races, a tough mudder, dozens of NYRR races and 2 NYC marathons! She and husband Sean Thomas live in Brooklyn with their amazing 5 year old daughter, Sonali. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bemoretoday/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bemoretoday/support

We ask, does the race of the plaintiff, the defendant, or the judge matter in a murder case? Prosecutors and defense attorneys discuss in this excerpt from MCLE’s 7/29/2020 program, Racial Bias in Litigation of Murder Cases. The full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.Speakers:Nicole L. Allain, Esq., Middlesex District Attorney's Office, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, WoburnVictoria Kelleher, Esq., Law Office of Victoria Kelleher, BostonMasai-Maliek King, Esq., Suffolk District Attorney's Office, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, BostonDenise M. Regan, Esq., SalemNanzella Whitfield, Esq., Committee for Public Counsel Services, Boston

Arun Rath speaks with Anthony Benedetti from the Committee for Public Counsel Services. The group provides legal representation to those who can't afford it on their own. Benedetti explains the challenges their clients are facing amid the pandemic.

Arun Rath speaks with Anthony Benedetti from the Committee for Public Counsel Services. The group provides legal representation to those who can't afford it on their own. Benedetti explains the challenges their clients are facing amid the pandemic.

This podcast, excerpted from MCLE’s 20th Annual Juvenile Delinquency & Child Welfare Law Conference held on 12/13/2019, discusses how to empower children and young adults involved in child welfare matters by bringing them into court to participate and to testify at evidentiary and non-evidentiary hearings and trials. The full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here. Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.Panel Moderator: Hon. Gloria Y. Tan, Middlesex County Juvenile Court, CambridgePanelists:Jessica Berry, Children's Law Center of Massachusetts, Inc., LynnAmy Ponte, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Fall RiverMimi Wong, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, Boston 

With state courts set to reopen, Arun Rath speaks with Anthony Benedetti, chief counsel for Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts agency that provides attorneys to those who can't afford their own. And Arun hears from immigration lawyer Susan Church about how immigration courts have been handling the pandemic.

With state courts set to reopen, Arun Rath speaks with Anthony Benedetti, chief counsel for Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts agency that provides attorneys to those who can't afford their own. And Arun hears from immigration lawyer Susan Church about how immigration courts have been handling the pandemic.

The nation is abuzz with updates about the 2020 presidential race, however another election is fast approaching for Boston residents. One that is arguably much more impactful on their day to day lives – The Boston City Council Elections. In preparation for the preliminary municipal election on September 24th, over the next two weeks we'll be focusing on two of the hottest city council races for District seats 5 and 8. This week Under the Radar was joined at WGBH's satellite studio at the Boston Public Library by seven of the eight candidates for the Boston City Council District 5 seat. District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan and Readville. Under the Radar will be back at the Boston Public Library on Thursday, September 19th at 3PM, to speak with candidates for the Boston City Council District 8 seat. You can learn more by checking the BPL Studio Calendar. Boston's preliminary City Council elections will be taking place on Tuesday, September 24th. The deadline to register for the November 5th elections is October 16th. Guests in first half: Ricardo Arroyo – Attorney born and raised in Hyde Park. His father, Felix D. Arroyo, was the first Latino to serve as a City Councilor in Boston. Ricardo is a public defender with the Committee for Public Counsel Services. This is his first time running for public office. Cecily Graham - Community organizer and elementary school lead teacher. She's a lifelong resident of Hyde Park and a first generation Caribbean American. She's running for public office for the first time. Jean-Claude Sanon – Resident of Roslindale. Jean-Claude is an activist and radio and television announcer. He's making his third bid for the District 5 seat. Alkia Powell - A resident of Hyde Park. Formerly she was a City Hall staffer at the Mayor's Office of Fair Housing and Equity and the Office of Economic Development. She is also a first-time candidate. Guests in second half: Mimi Turchinetz - A Mattapan-born attorney and community advocate currently living in Hyde Park. Mimi is the assistant deputy director of the Mayor's Office for Financial Empowerment, and founder and president of the Southwest Boston Community Development Corporation. She also ran for the District 5 seat in 2013. Justin Murad - Lifelong Hyde Park resident and a paralegal for the City of Boston Law Department. He's 24 years old and this is his second bid for District 5 City Councilor. Maria Esdale Farrell - Hyde Park-raised community advocate. She is currently District 5 City Councilor Tim McCarthy's Education Adviser. This is her first time running. *Candidate Yves Mary Jean was unable to join us for this discussion. —————————————————————-———————- More UTR: https://www.wgbh.org/news/under-the-radar-with-callie-crossley Follow Callie on Twitter: @CallieCrossley Like UTR on Facebook: facebook.com/UndertheRadarWGBH UTR is produced by Franziska Monahan. Doug Shugarts and John Parker are our engineers. Melissa Rosales is our intern. Under the Radar is a production of WGBH.

Ricardo Arroyo for Boston City Council on The Young Jurks, 1/5/2019. https://midnightmass.substack.com/p/ricardo-arroyo-for-boston-city-council Ricardo Arroyo, candidate for Boston City Council in District 5 (Hyde Park, Mattapan, and Roslindale), is the son of the first Latino elected to the Council, Felix D. Arroyo and brother of Felix G. Arroyo, who has also served on the very same Council. Interviewing Arroyo on my Disrupt Boston show, The Young Jurks, the 31 year old noted, “I come from a pretty great family.” and it goes beyond just the elected positions, his mother is a school teacher and his sister is employed as a Boston Public Schools educator. Another Arroyo brother, also came up in our discussion, Ernesto AKA Eroc, who I've known for decades, being a huge fan of his revolutionary hip hop, The Foundation Movement. Arroyo until his recent campaign announcement, had been serving as a public defender attorney for the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Unlike the incumbent District 5 Councilor Tim McCarthy, Arroyo supported the 2016 cannabis legalization initiative. What follows are quotes from the broadcast. Why are you running for City Council? “The job I had as a public defender for me it was a calling…Being a public defender is so much of why I'm running. In the work that I did, we were dealing with the vast majority of clients having mental illness, dealing with addiction, with housing instability, and sometimes all three. And people who are generally not receiving the services they need. One of the things I loved about the job is we didn't have to try to figure out where our next check was coming from, we were salaried, so I could help beyond the criminal cases, to help them with housing and getting treatment. Doing that work I would find the system could make a difference in their lives. I would make this impact on an individual basis... but every day at court there were new people showing up, everyday there is somebody else there so I could help one person but I couldn't resolve the greater issues that are bringing people there, not without stepping outside of that role.” --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theyoungjurks/support

Many people have difficulty getting the legal help they need. In this On The Road episode, host Kristoffer Butler talks with a panel at the ABA Midyear Meeting about their varying involvement in public interest law and pro bono opportunities. They discuss the many different areas of the law that they represent and encourage young lawyers and law students to consider public interest law because of its impactful opportunities. They also offer up areas where seasoned lawyers can donate their time to help those with limited access to justice. Amy Horton-Newell is the director of the ABA Center for Public Interest Law. Ainka Jackson is on the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty and is the executive director of the Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth, and Reconciliation. Wendy Wayne is the chair of the ABA Commission on Immigration and the director of the Immigration Impact Unit at the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Massachusetts. Eric Storey is the Director of Grassroots and Digital Advocacy at the American Bar Association. Buck Lewis is the chair of the ABA Pro Bono Committee. Joshu Harris is chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gun Violence.

April 2018 will be remembered as the month when lawmakers introduced the most ambitious reform of Massachusetts’ criminal justice system in decades. Signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker, the sweeping legislation was the result of a bipartisan compromise between Democrats and Republicans, with additional support from prosecutors, attorneys and advocacy organizations, including the MBA. “Criminal Justice Reform: The Latest on the New Law” educates legal professionals and the public about specific provisions contained in the bill, with expert analysis by MBA member attorneys Anthony J. Benedetti of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and Lee J. Gartenberg of the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Department. Hosted by Jordan Rich, the podcast examines fundamental changes related to the treatment of juvenile offenders, major reforms to the bail system, and the elimination of mandatory minimums for certain low-level offenses, among many other topics.

Part of our 2017 Access to Justice Award Series, this podcast features 2017 Defender Award winner Rebecca Jacobstein, a staff attorney in the Appeals Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Jacobstein has been relentless in the pursuit of justice for both her clients and thousands of others affected by the Sonja Farak drug lab scandal. While she will be the first to tell you that she’s not alone in this effort, Jacobstein says it’s situations like this that show the importance of having public defenders who act as a check and balance on the state.

On April 18th 2017, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court dismissed more than 21,000 low-level drug cases connected to the drug lab scandal that involved Annie Dookhan, a former chemist of a Massachusetts crime lab who admitted to falsifying evidence. After an investigation into Annie Dookhan and her work at the Hinton State Laboratory Institute, Dookhan admitted to altering and faking test results over a period of 8 years. On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and Craig Williams join Carl Williams, staff attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts, and Sandra Guerra Thompson, the director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center, to take a look at this drug lab scandal in Massachusetts and its impact on drug cases, attorneys, defendants, as well as take an inside look at what goes on inside a crime lab. Carl Williams is a staff attorney for the ACLU of Massachusetts. Carl was previously a criminal defense attorney with the Roxbury Defenders Unit of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. Sandra Guerra Thompson is the director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. In 2015, Sandra wrote a book entitled “Cops in Lab Coats: Curbing Wrongful Convictions with Independent Forensic Laboratories."

In today’s podcast, David Colarusso, a lawyer and data scientist for the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services, talks about what a legal hacker is, how he incorporates hacking into lawyering, and why lawyers should learn to code. But first, Sam and Aaron try to figure out whether lawyers who bill after working 55 hours in a week are just padding their hours.