Burns Chair James Forman Jr. in Conversation with Paul Bulter, Raj Jayadev, and Heather Pinckney: The Role of Public Defenders

On October 21, 2024, James Forman Jr., the W. Haywood Burns Chair in Human and Civil Rights, led a discussion focused on his co-edited anthology, Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change. This event explored the crucial role of public defenders within the criminal legal system. Professor Forman was joined by a panel of practitioners and scholars, including Paul Butler, the Albert Brick Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center; Raj Jayadev, co-founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug, a community organizing and multimedia storytelling organization, and author of the new book “Protect Your People”; and Heather Pinckney, Director of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia.