Trauma InJustice

Chris and Alison sit down to speak with Gordon Bonnyman, co-founder of the Tennessee Justice Center.  Mr. Bonnyman has practiced poverty law for 48 years.  His work has spanned so many areas of the law we could not begin to cover them all - he's litigated nursing home regulations, prison conditions, hospital pricing abuses, confinement of children with disabilities, due process for Medicaid recipients, and many others.  He has...

Chris and Alison partnered with Christie Bhageloe and Florida Legal Services to present a webinar.  We edited the audio of that live presentation to bring you this episode.  Our guests are Dr. Christie Monaghan and Tania Schmidt-Alpers. 

If you'd like to watch the actual webinar - and see us live in action - you can do so here on the FLS youtube.

This episode involves much discussion of domestic violence.  S...

This is the second episode in which Chris and Alison speak with Dr. James Clark, Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work at Florida State University.  You can review his impressive vita on the FSU COSW website here.  Dean Clark is a forensic social worker and you can learn about the role of mitigation (and social workers), in the book he edited with Edward Monahan:  Tell the Client's Story, Mitigation in Criminal and ...

Chris and Alison speak with James Clark, Professor and Dean of the College of Social Work at Florida State University.  You can review his impressive vita on the FSU COSW website here.  Dean Clark is a forensic social worker and you can learn about the role of mitigation (and social workers), in the book he edited with Edward Monahan:  Tell the Client's Story, Mitigation in Criminal and Death Penalty Cases.

Our conver...

Chris and Alison sit down with Jonathan Harriford to discuss his experiences with a loved one who lives with a chronic mental illness and his involvement with the justice system (both civil and criminal).   

For a list of the Department of Children and Families resources related to the Baker Act you can visit their website.

For information about a patient's rights under the Baker Act you can visit the website...

Chris and Alison interview Chief Frank Mackesy in our first ever 2-part interview.  We spent a lot of time talking with Chief Mackesy and the conversation was too good to cut down to just one listen - so this episode is the first of two.  In this episode you'll hear our discussion of two high-profile cases in which he was involved. 

Chief Mackesy is the Director of Police and Public Safety at the University of North ...

Chris and Alison speak with Professor Carla Laroche, who developed and directs the Civil Rights and Racial Justice Clinic at W&L Law.  Professor Laroche has her AB from Princeton, her MPP from Harvard, and her JD from Columbia.  She previously was a clinical professor at Florida State University College of Law, where she founded and directed the Gender and Family Justice Clinic.  They discuss the work of her clinics, how she pr...

In this episode, Chris and Alison talk to Tara Wildes, the Director of the Corrections Division of the St. John's County Sheriff's Department.  Director Wildes was also the director of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Department of Corrections - the first woman to ever run that corrections system where she supervised over 800 employees.  We talk about the challenges of running a county jail, the intersection of ment...

In the season finale, Chris and Alison talk to  Alan Chipperfield, Capital Crimes Director at the the Public Defender's Office in Jacksonville, Florida.  Al graduated from Washington and Lee and has been practicing law for 45 years: the vast majority of that spent defending people charged with murder and who face the death penalty.  He also served as the Chief Assistant Public Defender for the 8th Judicial Circuit and has prac...

Chris and Alison talk to homicide defense attorney Deb Billard.  We discuss cases, child clients, restorative justice, and religion.  Deb shares how she remains relentlessly positive, her loving relationship with clients, and the role of yoga and meditation in maintaining wellbeing in such a difficult job. 

These conversations are not appropriate for children. People with their own traumatic histories should be aware that ...

Chris and Alison talk to criminal defense attorney Mandy Kuhn.  Mandy has been practicing since 2005 and has represented people charged with almost every type of crime.  She has exclusively worked as a public defender for her entire career, both in Florida and in Ohio. 

These conversations are not appropriate for children. People with their own traumatic histories should be aware that we discuss violent crimes, exploitatio...

Chris and Alison talk to groundbreaking criminal defense attorney Ann Finnell in this episode.  Ann's work defending Brenton Butler was memorialized in the Oscar-winning documentary, "Murder on a Sunday Morning." She was also part of the defense team representing Casey Anthony.  Ann is an expert in defending people who are charged with 1st degree murder and  are facing the death penalty.  

These conversation...

In this episode, attorneys Chris Moser and Alison DeBelder interview Waffa Hanania. Waffa is an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Florida and has been practicing law for 30 years. Waffa touches on many aspects of a career dedicated to criminal defense work, including whether people can be made whole by the criminal justice system.  The focus in this conversation centers upon the pain involved when represe...

Chris and Alison interview solo practitioner Regina Wright (reginawrightlaw.com). Regina has been a criminal defense attorney for 30 years and has worked both as an assistant public defender and as a private attorney.  We talk about these two types of practice, the importance of taking cases to trial, and about racial disparities in the criminal justice system. 

These conversations are not appropriate for children. People ...

Chris and Alison talk to criminal defense attorney Lewis Buzzell about defending people charged with murder and who are facing the death penalty. Lewis is the Chief Assistant Public Defender for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, Florida.

These conversations are not appropriate for children. People with their own traumatic histories should be aware that we discuss violent crimes, exploitation, sexual trauma, child a...

Chris Moser and Alison DeBelder talk to Katherine Hinchey. Katherine is an attorney with the Public Defender's Office for the 4th Judicial Circuit in Jacksonville, Florida. She specializes in representing clients charged with sex crimes and talks about the challenges that are unique to her work. We also discuss some of the unique challenges faced by women lawyers working in the criminal justice system.

These conversat...