On July 13, 2021, one of kind, radical attorney Tony Serra joined the Vanguard for a live webinar and podcast. At the age of 86, he is not only still practicing as an attorney but continues to have the drive and passion that has driven his long and storied career as an attorney. Listen as he discusses his career, some of the notable cases he has defended and the Chief Stankowitz case.

Everyday Injustice

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 117 - Tony Serra

Santa Clara Public Defender Sajid Khan recently announced he was running for District Attorney. His announcement follows events of a year ago last summer when in response a pointed column by Khan, Santa Clara DA Jeff Rosen threatened to initiate a whistleblower retaliation proceedings against the Santa Clara County Deputy Public Defender. “Santa Clara County needs a true progressive as its District Attorney. I will be that person,” he said. “As District Attorney for all people, I will be committed to truth-telling about systemic racism, shrinking mass criminalization, addressing root causes of crime, and bringing the criminal legal system in line with basic notions of justice and humanity.” For the last 13 years, Khan has been a public defender serving Santa Clara County. He has fought for people’s constitutional rights, and against systemic racism, and against mass incarceration. He has sat in the county jails and juvenile hall, representing countless individuals. Khan was born in San Jose to Muslim immigrants from Madras, India. His mother worked as a laboratory scientist at O’Connor Hospital, and his late father was a physicist in the semiconductor industry who established a mosque and later a school, both in Santa Clara. Sajid Khan speaks to Everyday Injustice about his candidacy and his vision for transformative change in Santa Clara County.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 116: Santa Clara DA Candidate Sajid Khan

Donald Watson was convicted of felony murder but thanks to SB 1437, the law by Nancy Skinner, that allows people convicted of murder who were not the actual killer or major participants to petition for resentencing, Watson was able to get released from prison. During his time in prison, he had become a jailhouse lawyer and helped his fellow incarcerated individuals file motions and petitions. He has parlayed that into a business where he acts as a paralegal, filing motions and helped incarcerated individuals and others file motions with the court for release or resentencing.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 115: Donald Watson's New Lease on Life Through SB 1437

Silverio Strong spent 32 years incarcerated off and on from the time he was 12. Finally, he got involved in a robbery and attempted murder and received a 20 year sentence. On Everyday Injustice he talks about going from the troubled young man to someone who helps mentor others and has put together a successful life following his release from prison. He is now a spokesperson and board member for Hustle 2.0, a group that is led by formerly incarcerated to help the currently incarcerated, “Hustle 2.0 reduces crime, violence, and recidivism through evidence-based correspondence programs that equip incarcerated people with the tools to transform their lives by changing their thoughts and behaviors.”

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 114 - Silverio Strong From Incarceration to Redemption

Earlier this season on Everyday Injustice, we spoke with Flint Taylor who highlighted his years of fighting to expose the Chicago Torture Scandal. We also spoke with former Illinois Governor George Ryan who ended the death penalty in Illinois in part due to the torture scandal. And this week we talk more about the torture scandal and the death row 10 with four guests, two of whom were past survivors of the torture machine by former Police Captain Jon Burge. Three of these men were tortured into making false confessions landing on death row. One remains incarcerated but the death penalty was ended in Illinois by Governor Ryan in part due to the efforts of the Death Row 10. This is a story of their work from the inside to expose this scandal and force the hand of the governor. Mark Clements: Organizer Chicago Torture Justice Center Ronnie Kitchen: Death row wrongfully convicted, Jon Burge torture survivor Stanley Howard: D eath row wrongfully convicted, Jon Burge torture survivor Joan Parkin: One of the activists who helped to pressure the governor to commute the sentences of the death row incarcerated people.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 113: Chicago Torture Victims and Death Row Survivors Bear Witness

Prosecutorial misconduct continues to be widespread in the courts across the country. As a report from a decade ago discovered – with over 800 instances of documented prosecutorial misconduct, much of it serious with grave effects, courts, district attorneys, and bar associations “rarely hold prosecutors accountable for their misconduct. In fact, the whole system incentivizes misconduct by using “court wins” to measure prosecutorial success.” Accountability NY is a non-profit coalition of law professors and public interest groups seeking consequences for prosecutorial misconduct. Overview of the project: • The power prosecutors have in the criminal justice system and how their misconduct frequently goes unnoticed • How harmful their misconduct is to individuals, families, communities, and to the legal system itself • Why grievances were the way Accountability NY approached this issue (Currently the only avenue for accountability in New York) • What this means nationally. This is a nationwide issue plus it is happening at a time when there is a national movement for police accountability -- police accountability and prosecutorial accountability go hand in hand. Everyday injustice speaks with Steve Zeidman, Professor, Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic, has spent the last 25 years working in the area of criminal defense.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 112: Prosecutor Accountability in New York

Last year Assemblymember Ash Kalra authored a landmark bill that addresses racial discrimination in criminal sentencing and convictions. The California Racial Justice Act, which will prohibit racial discrimination in convictions and sentences. The act will prohibit it in all convictions and sentences. It also creates a process to challenge racial bias in trial or following conviction. “California’s Civil Rights law clearly prohibits discrimination in housing, in employment, and public accommodation,” he explained last year. “But nowhere in California law is there a clear statement that racial discrimination will not be tolerated in our criminal justice system. One compromise he made to get the bill passed was there was no look back mechanism. This year he introduced AB 2542 which allow for the act to apply retroactively. He explained, “While passing last year’s bill was a major step towards addressing institutionalized and implicit racial bias in our courts, the work is not done. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that all Californians are afforded an opportunity to pursue justice by making the measure retroactive—ensuring that these new protections are rightfully extended to those who have already been harmed by unfair convictions and sentences.” Listen as the Assemblymember explains the Racial Justice Act and why it’s needed.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 111: Ash Kalra Discusses California Racial Justice Act

When the California Supreme Court ruled in March in the Humphrey decision, that the judges are required to consider a person’s ability to pay when setting their bail amounts, a big question was whether that would lead to more pretrial release or whether judges would simply detain more people without bail, citing a public safety concern. In a new policy brief released in late May by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab, the early results show that when San Francisco was required to set more affordable bail amounts, judges in San Francisco chose to release more people to intensive supervision programs instead. This new analysis provides a preview of what may happen in other counties after the California Supreme Court applied that decision to the rest of the state earlier this year. Talking about this study and what it means is Dr. Johanna Lacoe, Research Director at the California Policy Lab, and a co-author of the analysis.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 110: Humphrey Decision’s Impact on Bail and Pretrial Detention

Sacramento area Attorney Keith Staten, heads up the Sacramento Conflict Counsel joins Everyday Injustice to discuss policing and his reaction to the Chauvin verdict. He also discusses issues in Sacramento, problems with the Community Police Review Commission as well as some of the high profile cases like Joseph Mann and Stephon Clark.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 109 - Sac Attorney Keith Staten on Policing

Last week, Larry Krasner who was among the first wave of progressive DA’s to be elected in 2017, won a resounding reelection in the Democratic primary after a former Deputy DA, who he had fired in 2018, attempted to take him down with the help of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). However, he won with 65 percent of the vote. The primary was widely seen as referendum on whether a wave of prosecutors elected on promises of criminal justice reform – elected on things like bail reform, reducing the incarcerated population, police accountability, and more – would be blamed for rising crime. Everyday Injustice reached out to NYU Law Professor Rachel Barkow, author of the book, Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration and ACLU Director of their National Political and Advocacy Department, Udi Ofer to discuss what the victory means for the national movement and for the prospects of Chesa Boudin and George Gascon in California, both of whom face recall from similar forces.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 108: Larry Krasner's Huge Win & Future of Progressive DA Movement

Cynthia Rodriguez, a retired public defender is running for DA in Yolo County, California - a relatively small county, next to Sacramento and the home of UC Davis. She is taking on four time incumbent Jeff Reisig. In 2018, Reisig narrowly averted defeat when he beat Public Defender Dean Johansson by a very narrow margin. Reisig has recently taken on a reformist tone, though he signed onto the letter by Ann Marie Schubert opposing good time credits that would lead to an early release of incarcerated people, he is a support of AB 1542 which reformers worry would create mandatory treatment for drug addicts, and he has spoken out strongly against zero bail. Listen as Rodriguez talks about Reisig's record and discusses her own reformist agenda.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 107: Yolo County DA Candidate Cynthia Rodriguez

On May 6, the Vanguard held a special live webinar featuring LA District Attorney George Gascón and Alameda Public Defender Brendon Woods on Policing and Race in America. Listen as two leaders in criminal justice reform discuss the conviction of Derek Chauvin, what has and has not changed since Rodney King and the future of policing.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 106 - BDOG Feat. George Gascón and Brendon Woods on Policing

La Tasha Williams is running for judge in Dauphin County Pennsylvania. She interned in a public defender’s office and has worked as a prosecutor most recently. According to her campaign page: “I am running to be your next judge on the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas because I am deeply committed to being a positive change agent in our system of justice. If elected, I promise to consistently bring to the courtroom my integrity, compassion, and experience which will ensure that all parties receive fair treatment and equity. I promise to treat all parties with dignity and respect, to include the pro se litigant who is oftentimes navigating unfamiliar waters. I will work towards eliminating the incidence of wrongful convictions, promoting earlier intervention for abused & neglected vulnerable populations, advancing alternatives to incarceration for chemically dependent persons, and exposing children living in dysfunctional homes to healthy life choices.” Listen as she discusses her candidacy and the criminal legal system on Everyday Injustice.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 105 – Judicial Candidate La Tasha Williams

Recent polling by Data for Progress for the Appeal taken between March 5 and March 7 found public opinion since the murder of George Floyd has shifted to support for alternatives to policing and the ways in which communities can reimagine safety outside of armed officers. They found, “As many as half of the individuals killed by law enforcement have a disability; and people with an untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed during a police encounter. Emergency First Responder (EFR) programs differ from place to place, but the purpose is the same: armed law enforcement is often not the best tool for responding to a range of requests for emergency assistance.” A new national poll from Data for Progress and The Lab, a policy vertical of The Appeal, “shows overwhelming support among likely voters for creating non-police emergency first responders to handle emergency calls that involve mental health issues, substance use disorders, health and safety check-ins, and people experiencing homelessness—and to reallocate law enforcement funding in order to do so.” To discuss these polling results, Everyday Injustice spoke with Alana Sivin and Emily Galvin-Almanza of the Appeal. Alana Sivin is a Senior Legal Analyst and Co-Host of Appeal Live. She previously served as Senior Legislative Counsel to the Criminal Justice Committee at the New York City Council, where she focused primarily on drafting legislation intended to reduce incarceration and improve jail conditions. Prior to that experience, she worked as public defender at New York County Defender Services in Manhattan, where she represented indigent New Yorkers charged with crimes. Emily Galvin-Almanza is a Senior Legal Analyst and Co-Host of Appeal Live. She worked as a public defender for most of a decade, first in California and then in New York. Emily is also the co-founder and executive director of Partners For Justice, a nonprofit that trains and places college graduates in public defenders’ offices to fight the enmeshed penalties of legal-system involvement, obtain access to vital services, and make low-income community members’ voices heard. *The interview was conducted after the death of Daunte Wright but before the verdict in the Derek Chauvin case.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 104 - Appeal Analysts Discuss Policing Polling

In less than 100 DAs, Manhattan will elect a new DA which would only be the fifth in the last 80 years, replacing four term incumbent Cy Vance. There are a host of progressive candidates vying for the Democratic nomination including Assemblymember Dan Quart. Earlier this month, Dan Quart release his public safety plan and one of his commes was: “We do not have to choose between a fairer and a safer city.” We really have created this kind of false dichotomy - where people have bought into this notion that if we reform the system, we become less safe.” Listen as Quart talks about his plan and burning issues like police reform and Rikers Island.

Everyday Injustice Podcast Episode 103 - Manhattan DA Candidate Dan Quart

Davis Vanguard Podcast will be covering criminal justice reform, mass incarceration, wrongful convictions, and more.

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Everyday Injustice

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