Josh Dubin & J.D. Tomlinson

Who is Josh Dubin & J.D. Tomlinson?

Josh Dubin is the Executive Director of the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice, a criminal justice reform advocate, and civil rights attorney.

Topics and Timestamps

• 01Josh Dubin and J.D. Tomlinson discuss criminal justice reform and wrongful convictions in Ohio
• 02The conversation covers the case of the Ohio 4, individuals who may have been wrongfully convicted
• 03Discussion of systemic issues in the criminal justice system and prosecutorial misconduct
• 04The role of the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice in fighting wrongful convictions
• 05How evidence can be suppressed or mishandled leading to innocent people going to prison
• 06The importance of legal advocacy and appellate work in overturning unjust convictions
• ▶Introduction to the Perlmutter Center and its mission0:00:00
• ▶Discussion of wrongful convictions and how they happen in the criminal justice system0:15:00
• ▶J.D. Tomlinson explains his perspective as a former prosecutor working on criminal justice reform0:30:00
• ▶Deep dive into a specific Ohio case and the evidence issues involved0:45:00
• ▶Discussion of the appellate process and challenges in getting convictions overturned1:15:00

The Show

Joe brings on Josh Dubin, Executive Director of the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice, and J.D. Tomlinson, a former Lorain County Prosecutor in Ohio, to discuss criminal justice reform and some serious cases of wrongful conviction. These aren't your typical legal experts coming on to talk abstract theory. Dubin and Tomlinson are actively fighting to free people they believe were wrongfully convicted, and they bring real cases with real consequences to the conversation.

The episode digs into how the criminal justice system can fail spectacularly, focusing heavily on wrongful convictions and the systemic issues that allow innocent people to spend years or decades behind bars. Dubin explains the work of the Perlmutter Center and how they identify cases worthy of appeal and investigation. The conversation gets into the weeds on how evidence gets handled, how prosecutors can suppress exculpatory evidence, and how initial convictions can be built on faulty foundations that nobody bothers to question until years later.

J.D. Tomlinson's perspective as someone who worked inside the prosecutor's office adds a unique angle. He understands the system from the inside and can speak to both how it's supposed to work and how it actually breaks down in practice. The discussion includes specific Ohio cases and the challenges these men face when trying to prove innocence after a conviction. They talk about appellate processes, the difficulty of getting new evidence heard, and the institutional resistance to admitting that mistakes were made.

What makes this conversation valuable is that it's not just criticism for criticism's sake. These are people actively trying to fix the system by fighting individual cases and pushing for broader reforms. Joe gets genuinely engaged with the details of how convictions get reversed, what evidence matters, and why the system so often protects itself rather than protecting justice. It's a heavy episode that pulls back the curtain on how people can end up in prison for crimes they didn't commit, and what it actually takes to prove that and get them out.

Best Quotes