‘Too much drama’: Public defenders quit Louisiana governor's oversight board

Two members of the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board have resigned just 14 months into what were supposed to be four-year terms on the new governing body Gov. Jeff Landry created.

Freddie Pitcher Jr., a former state appellate judge in Baton Rouge who also ran Southern University’s law school, and Shreveport attorney Ted Hernandez are leaving the board. Their decisions to step down come shortly before the board expects to have a contentious vote Monday about the dismissal of five attorneys who run local public defender offices.

Pitcher, who Landry appointed to the board, said he is leaving because he is having personal issues that have been exacerbated by the board having “too much drama.” Hernandez, who was Senate President Cameron Henry’s appointee, sent a short resignation letter to Landry at the end of last month.

“Serving on the board has been a learning experience,” wrote Hernandez, who could not be reached Wednesday by phone or email for additional comment.

The nine-member board helps supervise Louisiana’s sprawling public defense system with 37 local offices and approximately 850 attorneys. Public defenders represent 146,000 people annually and 88% of all criminal defendants in Louisiana.

Last year, Landry pushed through a controversial change in state law that dissolved the previous state public defender board and replaced it with the current, weaker version over which the governor has more influence.

State Public Defender Rémy Starns lobbied Landry for the new board after clashing over policy with the previous one. Starns has been the leader of the public defender system since former Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed him in 2020. Landry and the newly-formed board agreed last year to keep him in the position.

Yet the new board and Starns have had some of the same disagreements he had with the old board.

The new board has voted down Starns’ proposals to reduce the pay of most chief public defenders who run local offices and incentivize some to operate part-time, private law practices on top of their state responsibilities. He also wanted to offer additional money to chiefs who agreed to represent more clients personally in court.

In February, Starns caused controversy when he told five chief public defenders who run local offices they would be losing their jobs on July 1 after their state contracts expire. The attorneys have appealed those terminations to the board, which is expected to decide Monday whether they will be terminated.

The chief public defenders affected are Michelle AndrePont in Caddo Parish, Brett Brunson in Natchitoches Parish, Deirdre Fuller in Rapides Parish, Trisha Ward of Evangeline Parish and John Hogue, who works in Tensas, Madison and East Carroll parishes.

All five have been among the most critical of Starns’ policies in public. Over the past few years, they have testified at legislative hearings and public defender board meetings to oppose Starns’ efforts to remake the public defender board and curb their pay. They argue Starns targeted them for dismissal because they have spoken out against him.

“If in fact these terminations are due in whole or in part to the participation of these District Defenders in the legislative process or Board meetings, then it is beyond question that the independence of the indigent defense function is under attack,” wrote Stephen Haedicke, an attorney representing the lawyers.

Starns did not respond to phone calls and text messages asking for comment Wednesday.

A special subcommittee of the public defender board has recommended the board uphold Starns’ decision to fire the attorneys. It concluded Starns had the authority not to renew the public defender chiefs’ one-year contracts.

“Mr. Starns had no obligation to enter into new contracts with these defenders,” Paul deMahy, a retired state court judge and board member who chaired the subcommittee, wrote in a memo last month.

Pitcher also sat on the subcommittee and said his perspective was more nuanced. He agreed with deMahy that Starns had the legal authority to dismiss the five attorneys, but he wanted to recommend that the governor keep them in their jobs anyway.

“He has a technical win there. But from a moral standpoint, they should have their jobs back,” Pitcher said Wednesday.

The attorneys are also challenging the subcommittee’s recommendation by saying an April hearing on the dismissals violated the state’s public notice and open meetings laws for government entities.

While the review of the attorneys’ terminations was taking place over the last two months, Starns had also asked the Louisiana Legislature to approve two more bills that would have increased his authority further. The legislation stalled, however, after state lawmakers expressed concern Starns was trying to work around the new public defender board set up just last year.

Starns is also asking the 30-plus remaining chief public defenders who run local offices to waive their rights to challenge their dismissal and compensation if they want to keep their jobs, according to a copy of the contract provided by a public defender, who asked not to be named because of fear of retaliation.

The new one-year contracts Starns has sent to chief public defenders require the attorneys to forgo the compensation plan the public defender oversight board set for one Starns has implemented. He would also be able to fire them at any time without cause with 30 days notice, and the attorneys would no longer be able to appeal to the board for a reversal of that decision.

The agreements kick in on July 1.