How Does Silicon Valley De-Bug San Mateo Hope to Improve Public Defense and the Criminal Legal System w/Ana Ramirez Zarate and Lourdes Best
Today, Hunter spoke with Anna Ramirez Zarate and Lourdes Best of the San Mateo Chapter of Silicon Valley De-Bug. On today’s episode, we will hear about how the community views the criminal legal system, the Private Defender Program in San Mateo, and how they felt about the harmful, racist emails sent by some members of PDP.
Guest
Ana Ramirez Zarate, Community and Participatory Defense Organizer, Silicon Valley De-Bug
Lourdes Best, Community and Participatory Defense Organizer, Silicon Valley De-Bug
Resources:
SVDB Socials
https://www.youtube.com/user/DeBugTV
https://www.siliconvalleydebug.org/
https://www.instagram.com/sv_debug/?hl=en
Complaint with CRC
Reports about PDP
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/private_defender_program.pdf
https://www.smcgov.org/media/2466/download?inline=
https://sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/system/files/balance_scale_of_justice.pdf
Emails About Silicon Valley De-Bug
https://x.com/svdebug/status/1838380292765327581
*** Note on the Episode****
Following my conversation with Lisa and Harpreet flat rate fees in the PDP, Lisa informed me that the Office of the State Public Defender in California released Standards for Contract Panels. They discourage any flat fee compensation. As a result, Lisa will now be working with the county to move away from the flat rate fees towards an all-hourly compensation rate.
New Standards Can be Found Here
https://www.ospd.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CA-Standards_ContractPanelDefense.pdf
Contact Hunter Parnell:
@PublicDefenselessPodcast
@PDefenselessPod
Subscribe to the Patron
www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast
Donate on PayPal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ
Donate on Stripe
https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN
Trying to find a specific part of an episode? Use this link to search transcripts of every episode of the show!
https://app.reduct.video/o/eca54fbf9f/p/d543070e6a/share/c34e85194394723d4131/home