Exploring shipwrecks and navigating the challenges of indigent defense, Jennifer Sellitti, head of the New Jersey Public Defender and dive boat captain, describes the similarities of her avocations.
“I’m a lawyer by day and a pirate on the weekends. Storytelling is the common thread, the important thing about representing defendants and understanding shipwrecks.”
“Attorney conducted voir dire has been a game-changer in New Jersey.”
“The most dangerous words ever used are ‘we’ve always done it this way’; they had to be overcome to achieve attorney voir dire.”
“Having strange allies is important to making progress on important issues.”
Recorded on October 9, 2025