

What if the lawyer defending Capitol rioters actually... cares about them?
“'Public Defender' follows the work of Heather Shaner, a lawyer representing January 6th rioters, who works to confront America’s political divisions with empathy" (The New Yorker).
Direction
Refuses easy villains, lets discomfort breathe.
Writing
Shaner's own words do the heavy lifting.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shaner represents a tiny faction of public defenders who see their role as repairing democracy itself, not just winning cases.
The 41-minute runtime is intentional—long enough to complicate your feelings, short enough that you can't look away.
No ratings yet
Sign in to join the discussion — comments are spoiler-gated to your watch progress.
Discussion starters