218: The Cuyahoga County Youth Public Defenders Want More Cases, So Why Aren't They Getting Them? w/Nikki Baszynski

Mar 19, 2024

53:53

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Today, Hunter is once again joined by an amazing former Public Defender from the Wren Collective to discuss their report about youth representation in Cuyahoga County Ohio. Nikki Baszynski joins Hunter today to talk about, perhaps for the first time on the shoe, a Public Defender office that feels they don't have enough cases! Unlike most of the major metropolitan areas in Ohio, juvenile public defense is largely provided by contract counsel and not the Public Defender office. Unfortunately, this is happening despite evidence that the Public Defender office is consistently getting better outcomes for their clients and doing so at a cheaper cost to the county.

Guests:

Nikki Baszyinski, Principal and Former Public Defender, The Wren Collective

Resources:

Wren Collective Report on Cuyahoga County

https://www.wrencollective.org/_files/ugd/8fe8f0_1079cdb763ae4fd4b86cffa5a5f3631e.pdf

Reporting from Signal

https://signalcleveland.org/every-child-accused-of-a-crime-has-a-right-to-an-attorney-is-cuyahoga-county-providing-the-best-possible-representation/

https://signalcleveland.org/how-cuyahoga-county-picks-attorneys-to-represent-children-accused-of-crimes/

Follow the Wren Collective on Twitter

https://twitter.com/wrencollective

Ohio Public Defender Commission

https://opd.ohio.gov/