Matthew Mahaffey

Matthew Mahaffey, St. Louis district defender for the Missouri State Public Defender, explains how problems at the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office are affecting his clients — and harming Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's reform agenda.

Detainees in the City Justice Center last year waited an average of 146 days before getting a preliminary hearing. District Defender Matthew Mahaffey discussed how practices by the Circuit Attorney's Office have contributed to long stays at the jail, which has been cited as a factor in recent unrest there.