Defend the People: LA's Public Defenders Unionize

08/11/18 • 30 min

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Congratulations to the Los Angeles County Public Defenders Union on becoming an officially recognized bargaining unit. Ace Katana joins me to talk about the efforts to unionize, what spurred it, and what they hope to gain. The Los Angeles County Office of the Public Defender is the largest criminal defense law firm in the world and the oldest public defender office in the US. Hundreds of attorneys handle thousands, if not tens of thousands, of cases a year. They are often the only hope their clients have to stay out of jail and to defend themselves against the power of the mass incarceral state. Since first being proposed by Clara Shortridge Foltz at the World's Fair in 1893, cities and counties have adopted this model to provide representation to their residents. These efforts were further bolstered by Supreme Court decisions that affirmed a defendant's right to legal counsel. As more attention turns to the abuses of prosecutors and cops the necessity of this work becomes even more apparent. To learn more about Clara Shortridge Foltz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Shortridge_Foltz To see what the LA County Public Defenders Union is up to: https://www.lapubdefunion.com/ or follow them on Twitter: @LApubdefunion To learn more about AFSCME Council 36: https://www.afscme36.org/ To visit KNOCK LA's Patreon: http://patreon.com/KNOCK_LA

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Everything Is On Fire FOREVER: The New "Normal" in California

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