Partners for Justice

Weekly video time! Let's talk about how #mandatoryminimums force judges to be more punitive. #lawyersoflinkedin #lawyer #attorney #defenseattorney #criminaljusticereform #reform #sentencing

Time is running out! Our seasonal swag shop closes Sunday at 11:59 p.m. This is the last chance to pick up these ultra-soft hoodies and tees. Do you want to support public defense and look good while doing it? You know what to do! All proceeds go to our mission to empower public defense. 👕🔗🔥https://lnkd.in/e6qrEcv9

It's your weekly video! Did you know that some #police are using a victim's rights #law called Marsy's Law to shield themselves from public scrutiny? Dive in for more details. Links below. 🔗 🔗https://lnkd.in/e6jhyhre 🔗https://lnkd.in/eUhJnXtF 🔗https://lnkd.in/eeZ3gu-Y 🔗https://lnkd.in/ec2-euDF 🔗https://lnkd.in/eQ5429bj 🔗https://lnkd.in/eqqPrm9Y #lawyersoflinkedin #lawyer #defenseattorney #lawfact #lawfactsoflinkedin #policing

PFJ Client Advocates are badasses. There, we said it. Whether they are helping clients navigate court-ordered diversion programs and providing meaningful mitigation or helping clients find stable housing, Advocates find a way. Check out this awesome story about former PFJ Client Advocate Magdalena Blaise, who just wrapped up her fellowship with the Delaware County Public Defender's Office. https://lnkd.in/epCiZyDv

It's time for your weekly video! This week, we're talking about how, too often, law enforcement gets a do-over on unconstitutional searches. And they're doing it more and more, according to the paper below. If you want to learn more about the issue, also check out the great Public Defenseless podcast on the topic. 🔗https://lnkd.in/ePpdU38T 🔗https://lnkd.in/eb9fXBjm #lawyersoflinkedin #publicdefense #searches #justice #constitution #constitutionallaw #conlaw #defenseattorney

It's that time again. That's right, it's merch season!🔥🔥🔥 Do you like hoodies and tees that are as soft as a cloud? Do you want to support public defense while looking good? We've partnered with Zealous and Turn90 on these amazing hoodies and shirts. Proceeds support public defense. Get 'em while you can! https://ow.ly/xFEC50SSUA7

It's your weekly #lawfact video! Did you know that if you're serving on a jury, the court system is deliberately keeping you in the dark about the consequences of your verdict? Take a guess who you can thank for that. Watch for more details. #law #defenseattorney #juries #lawyersoflinkedin #defense #juryservice #publicdefender #publicedefense Shannon v United States, 512 U.S. 573 (1994)

It's the weekly video. Today I'm talking about something that gives people really strong feelings, which can make it hard to stay clear-headed...so let's look at what the data says about offender registries. A primary deterrent to crime is the likelihood of being apprehended. But clearance rates for rape remain staggeringly low, just above 26% according to Pew, with police closing the lowest number of cases since 1993. https://lnkd.in/eRrNkd5q So the first thing to know about registry laws is that they’re a kind of security theater—designed to make you feel safer, when, in fact, they don’t actually do much for safety at all https://lnkd.in/eXDCmgb3 The truth is that 95.8% of all sexual offenses are first-time offenses, meaning that if we want safety, registration ex post facto isn't doing all that much on the preventative front. https://lnkd.in/eNNXDbEz Additionally, because kids do dumb things and prosecutors apparently lack all common sense, there are a ridiculous number of kids who are getting registered for doing kid things  https://lnkd.in/eKBjJX_K So what do these registries actually DO? Well, they create  massive social stigma, public humiliation, and restrict where people can live and work and be. For the public, that again doesn’t do much, because the majority of sexual assaults don’t happen at parks, they happen at home.  https://lnkd.in/e-SJnuYY Worse, publicly humiliating people and casting them out of society takes a group of people who are already at pretty low risk of recidivism (around 15-17%) and INCREASES THEIR CHANCE OF RECIDIVISM via exclusion, trauma, and lack of opportunity. https://lnkd.in/e_8nb8b2). Here are the recidivism stats I mentioned, and notice something? Registration isn’t what can drop the risk of a sex offense. THERAPY ACTUALLY WORKS and giving people supportive care could—if we chose it—make us safer. https://lnkd.in/et_fhkcC Instead of focusing on therapies that work and reduce the chance of a future crime, most jurisdictions just effectively banish people…sometimes so thoroughly that they’re forced to literally live under a bridge. https://lnkd.in/eK3Tc6_s As a survivor myself, I’m furious. I don’t want to be pandered to by a government who thinks publicly humiliating someone (at the cost of my safety) will trick me into feeling safe. Registration can't prove it's worth anything. Invest in therapy instead.

PFJ Client Advocates get up to all sorts of amazing things during their placements with public defender agencies nationwide. In Delaware, Client Advocates Latoya White and Ryan Cieslukowski, with the Delaware Office of Defense Services, recently helped organize a majorly successful community resource fair. Here's what it took and why it matters that communities in southern Delaware have access to resources. #netde #delaware #dover #milford #georgetown #defenseattorney #publicdefense #nonprofit

Our 4 new Partners for Justice client advocates arrived this week, along with a half-dozen student interns from colleges near and far. I got to spend some time training this group yesterday, and WOW! I am looking forward to working side by side with this bright and talented team. This morning, our Director of Holistic Defense Caitlin Becker took our new defenders, including advocates, interns, and our new Payroll Clerk, on a tour of the court. Watch out world! The public defenders are here!