Lamont names retired Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer to chair commission that oversees embattled public defender system
Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday appointed retired Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer as chairman of the commission that oversees the Division of Public Defender Services, an agency that has been in disarray since most of the former oversight board resigned over allegations the role race is playing in hiring and other decisions.
Palmer will lead an almost entirely new commission, which by law approves spending, hiring and policy decisions.
All but one of the prior commission members resigned abruptly last week, after becoming involved in a dispute over control of the agency with newly appointed Chief Public Defender TaShun Bowden-Lewis, who they appointed six months earlier as the first Black woman to hold the position.
The dispute turns, at least in part, on commission decisions in at least two cases to hire white people for positions rather than follow Bowden-Lewis’ recommendation to hire Black candidates. A division-wide email distributed in the name of the agency’s Racial Justice and Cultural Competency Committee, complained that the personnel decisions amount to the sort of mistreatment of Bowden-Lewis that ”may have serious racist implications for the Commission.”
Apparently in response, Bowden-Lewis hired an employment lawyer who warned commissioners by letter that their “action of simultaneously hyper scrutinizing and undermining her decisions is pretext for discrimination.”
Palmer will lead an almost entirely new, seven-member commission. By law, the governor appoints the chairman, the chief justice is responsible for appointing two members and majority and minority leaders of the state House and Senate each have an appointment.
“I sought out his service to become chairperson of this commission not only because of his intellectual rigor and his extensive expertise on the inner workings of Connecticut’s legal system, but also because I am confident in his ability to provide the leadership that this commission needs during this time,” Lamont said of Palmer
In addition to Palmer, Chief Justice Richard Robinson appointed Superior Court Judge Sheila M. Prats, a former public defender who sits on the geographical area 12 court in Manchester, and retired Superior Court Judge Elliot N. Solomon.
Senate President Martin Looney appointed New Haven lawyer Michael A. Jefferson, who lectures on racism. Speaker of the House Matthew Ritter appointed Wethersfield lawyer Russ Morin, a former state representative. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora previously appointed former state Rep. William R. Dyson, of New Haven, the only member of the previous commission who had not resigned.
Senate Minority leader Kevin Kelly has the final appointment to the commission but had not made it by late Friday.
A political official involved in the appointments that were announced Friday said the new commissioners were assured by the governor’s office and Attorney General William Tong’s office that they will be defended at state expense if they are drawn into litigation through the commission’s work.
Bowden-Lewis has not responded to multiple telephone inquiries, but said in an emailed statement that the Division of Public Defender Services continues to move forward, regardless of the resignations and thanked the departing commissioners for their service.
A dozen or so division lawyers and investigators have complained anonymously that what they describe as Bowden-Lewis’ heavy handed management style and emphasis on race have created mistrust among colleagues and caused morale to plummet. All said they are afraid of retribution if they are identified.
In the days since the resignations, interviews with staff and leaked internal documents show that Bowden-Lewis has clashed with the board over operational control of the agency and the dispute has involved allegations of racial bias.
In one document that has become public, a former division manager claimed Bowden-Lewis told her not to share information with the commission, that she changed salaries and had a “bullying” management style that has spread mistrust among the legal staff.
The Division of Public Defender Services employs more than 400 attorneys and support staff who are involved in tens of thousands of criminal, delinquency and other cases annually. The commission has wide authority under state law to control spending, appointments and policy.