Aider and Abettor Podcast
by Sajid Khan and Avi Singh
Public Defenders Sajid Khan and Avi Singh podcast on the criminal system on Aider and Abettor. The show includes discussions about the mismatch between the criminal system's purported values and actual function. Sajid Khan is a public defender in San Jose, CA. Sajid is a the author of Closing Arguments, a blog focused on criminal law and social justice. His work is published by the National Association of Public Defense. Sajid graduated from UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of Law.Avi Singh is a public defender in San Jose, CA. Avi graduated from UC Davis and Harvard Law School. He is on the Board of the Asian American Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association. Avi coaches a high school mock trial team that competes in the Constitutional Rights Foundation program.You can follow @thesajidkhan and @avanindar on Twitter.Please send comments and suggestions to [email protected]. You can also follow us on twitter @aiderandabettor. Our website is https://medium.com/@aider
Episodes
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algorhythm nation
On this episode of the pod, we talk all about Proposition 25 and what pretrial justice would look like in a Prop. 25 world. To do this, we get together with Carlie Ware (@carlieware11) and Carson White. Carlie and Carson specialize in pretrial release advocacy and pre-arraignment representation....
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Racial Justice Act with Ash Kalra
In this episode, Sajid and guest host Sarah Ruby (fellow pd out of San Jose) interview Assemblymember Ash Kalra (twitter @ash_kalra) about the Racial Justice Act (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2542)...
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PD Eliza Orlins Running For Manhattan DA
Sajid and Avi meet with Eliza Orlins. Eliza has been a public defender in New York for around 10 years. She decided to run for District Attorney of Manhattan. They talk about what called her to the work and her decision to run for DA. Learn more about Eliza’s work and campaign here:...
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Double Crossover: Pod With SF DA Boudin And Rachel Marshall from Chasing Justice
“For the People”: Finding the Humanity in Our Criminal Legal System with Sajid Khan and Avi Singh: In this crossover episode with the cohosts of Aider and Abettor podcast, Bay Area public defenders Avi Singh and Sajid Khan join DA Boudin and Rachel to examine what it means when a prosecutor...
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It's a Crossover
Sajid joined Another Not Guilty Pod for a two-part interview. Part 1 is about what happened when Sajid wrote a blog post calling for civil rights protesters to look at what District Attorneys have done to contribute to the system of mass incarceration and abusive police practices. Part 2 will…
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COVID Court Content Care
COVID: Courts, Content, Care Avi and Sajid talk about what defense practice looks like during the COVID-19 pandemic, including video arraignments in mostly empty courthouses. They also talk about the content that they have enjoyed consuming and self-care practices while sheltering in place. Lee...
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Social Distancing in Prison
Avi and Sajid discuss COVID-19 with Adnan Khan (!akhan1437). Adnan is the co-founder and executive director of Re:Store Justice (@restore_cal). Adnan was incarcerated at 18 for a felony murder conviction. He advocated for reform and was released after California largely abolished felony murder...
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Hech Yea: PD Movement Building with Scott Hechinger
Scott Hechinger (@scotthech) joins Sajid (@thesajidkhan) and Avi (@avanindar) to talk about public defender movement building. @Scotthech talks about the Zealo.us, a project to train public defenders on movement building and media advocacy. They talk about the termination of two public defenders...
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Informant Scandal in the OC
This episode is all about the Orange County Informant Scandal. Avi and Sajid talk with Somil Trivedi (@somilbtrivedi). Somil is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Criminal Reform Project. They discuss what happened in Orange County, why it matters, how it was uncovered, and what happens…
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PD Resolutions
Avi and Sajid reflect on the year and talk through what’s next in the pod, criminal justice reform, and their public defense practices. They talk about notable episodes from 2019 and share ideas about what they hope to cover in 2020. They talk about accomplishments in criminal justice reform and...
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Rio Grande
Sajid and Avi sit down with Deputy Public Defender Perla Garcia. Perla spoke out about her experience coming to the US from Nicaragua when she was twelve with three younger brothers after the tragic deaths of Oscar Alberto Martinez and his 23-month-old daughter Angie Valeria. Perla describes her...
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Live Pod with SF Public Defender Mano Raju
Avi and Sajid recorded a live show with SF Public Defender Mano Raju at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. Mano talked about his background and path to public defense, his vision for the Public Defender’s Office in San Francisco, and where he believes the practice should and could go. Mano...
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Chesa Boudin
Avi and Sajid interview San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin about his campaign for San Francisco District Attorney. They discuss Chesa's motivation for running and talk through some of his reform proposals. Learn more about Chesa's campaign here https://www.chesaboudin.com/ and...
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Haste Over Humanity
Sajid and Avi discuss the execution of Dominique Ray and the Supreme Court’s decision to lift a stay of execution despite religious discrimination. This one is from February. Lots of things have happened since the recording, including a stay of execution in the case of Patrick Murphy based on...
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An Incomprehensible Series of Gross Mistakes
Avi and Sajid get back together with Marc Bookman from the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation. Marc talks about his work on behalf of Kareem Johnson. He gives an update on Ricky Olds (https://soundcloud.com/user-139217541/14-going-on-life-without-parole). They also get an update on...
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Bad Defense Bracket
This is The Bad Defense bracket. Avi and Sajid join public defenders Kristin Carter and Chris Givens to debate the worst defense attorneys from movies, television, books, documentaries, and podcasts. @leerosevere composed the intro and outro. @omniboi and @chalolo composed music played during the...
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The Sound Of The Police
Avi and Sajid talk to Sergeant Jeremy Jones. Jeremy has been with the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office for around 10 years. Jeremy grew up on the East Side of San Jose. His father has been in and out of jail for much of Jeremy’s life. He talks about how experiences with his father and police shaped…
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Justice for Dazia Lee
In this episode of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid talk about a North Carolina Sheriff’s decision to charge Dazia Lee with involuntary manslaughter of her one year old child. Ms. Lee’s son slipped through her arms after a car accident in flood waters. The discussion goes into some of the moral and...
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We Gotta Make a Change
Avi and Sajid are joined by veteran Public Defender Brian Matthews. They discuss a wave of criminal justice reform in California. The topics include the elimination of cash bail, laws designed to protect kids from prosecution, and a major change to the felony murder rule. The intro clip is…
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Gag Order
In this episode of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid react to an order by Ohio Judge John Russo to gag Franklyn Williams with red duct tape. This type of breakdown does not happen in a vacuum. They discuss the larger context, possible ways to prevent this from happening, and some of their…
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Public Public Defenders
This is the twentieth episode of Aider & Abettor. Sajid talks with Alameda public defender Rachel Marshall. Rachel handles felony trials in Oakland, California. She has written articles about the sentence of Brock Turner and recall of Judge Aaron Persky for vox.com. You can find her work here:...
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Krasner Memo
Avi and Sajid sit down with Michael Ogul to discuss a memo issued by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner aimed at fighting mass incarceration and restoring balance to sentencing. The three describe some of the problems that this new approach attempts to solve. They also talk about ways…
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Stephon Clark Body Cam Reactions
We were joined by our friend/fellow public defender Carlie Ware for a discussion about the police shooting of Stephon Clark. The conversation includes our reactions to the body camera and helicopter footage. We recorded the episode before the release of the private and public autopsies. We will...
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#ClientsFirst in LA
In this episode of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid interview Los Angeles Deputy Public Defender Elizabeth Lashley-Haynes about the #clientsfirst #notmypd movement in Los Angeles County. The Board of Supervisors in Los Angeles appointed an attorney with zero public defense experience to be the...
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14 Going on Life Without Parole
Avi and Sajid took the podcast on the road to the Capital Case Defense Seminar in Monterey, CA. This episode is an interview with Marc Bookman. Marc is the co-director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation in Philadelphia, PA. The interview focuses on Marc's work on behalf of Ricky...
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How We Represent Those People
In Ep. 15 of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid sit down with Rod O'Connor. Rod retired from public defense in 2016. During his career, Rod tried homicides and mentored new lawyers (including Avi). In the first segment, Rod shares his perspective as a recently retired public defender on the parts of...
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mid thirty something jump street
In the last episode of the year, Avi and Sajid recorded a live pod at Jordan Middle School in Palo Alto, California. The students have been thinking about the issue of prosecuting minors as adults. In the first segment, Avi talks about challenging the sentence of a person who was sentenced to…
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State Action with Ash Kalra
On this episode of Aider & Abettor, California State Assemblymember Ash Kalra joins Sajid and Avi. Ash is the first Indian American state legislator in California. Before being elected to the California State Assembly, Ash was a public defender in San Jose, CA (at the same office as Sajid and…
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Bench Notes: Conversation with Retired Judge on Bail/Plea Bargaining/Judicial Recall
In this episode of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid are joined by retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Ron Del Pozzo, someone who they both appeared in front of during their public defense careers before the Judge’s retirement. In the first segment (2:20), they all discuss the nuances of...
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Reclaiming Our Time with Kristin Carter [AKA Respecting the Wu-Tang]
Avi is joined by public defender Kristin Carter. The topics include whether the ACLU should change its stance on representation after Charlottesville, jury selection in the Shkreli trial, the Arpaio pardon, and Taylor Swift. At the end of the episode they do their Things. Our music is by...
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Whose Courts?
In the 10th episode of Aider & Abettor, Avi and Sajid welcome guests Raj Jayadev and Charisse Domingo of Silicon Valley De-Bug (https://siliconvalleydebug.org), a community organization in San Jose focused on storytelling and advocacy for the marginalized and criminal justice reform. In their...
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The Return with Kevin Bilal Chatman [All We Need Is Three Mics]
In the 9th Episode of Aider & Abettor, Sajid and Avi welcome their first ever guest: Kevin “Bilal” Chatman. Bilal, born and raised in San Jose, got a new lease on life after voters passed Prop. 36 in 2012 which amended California's Three Strikes Law. Bilal, then serving 150 years to life in…
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Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of
In Episode 6 of Aider & Abettor, Sajid and Avi get into a New York State of Mind. In the Opening Statement, they discuss the campaign to #raisetheage. The talk about the problems of treating 16 year olds as adults in the criminal justice system. In the Deep Dive, they discuss a recent proposal to...
About this show
Public Defenders Sajid Khan and Avi Singh podcast on the criminal system on Aider and Abettor. The show includes discussions about the mismatch between the criminal system's purported values and actual function. Sajid Khan is a public defender in San Jose, CA. Sajid is a the author of Closing Arguments, a blog focused on criminal law and social justice. His work is published by the National Association of Public Defense. Sajid graduated from UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of Law.Avi Singh is a public defender in San Jose, CA. Avi graduated from UC Davis and Harvard Law School. He is on the Board of the Asian American Criminal Trial Lawyers' Association. Avi coaches a high school mock trial team that competes in the Constitutional Rights Foundation program.You can follow @thesajidkhan and @avanindar on Twitter.Please send comments and suggestions to [email protected]. You can also follow us on twitter @aiderandabettor. Our website is https://medium.com/@aider
Hosted by
Sajid Khan and Avi Singh