🚨Breaking: 2 top public defenders in PA fired for simply advocating for bail reform. Retaliated against by chief judge in cahoots w/ county commission. Wanted them first to get permission to file brief. Against the court & county. Defenders have receipts. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…
Let’s break this down.
Who got fired: Dean Beer & Keisha Hudson. Montgomery County, PA chief defenders. “Under Beer and Hudson, the Philadelphia suburb was thought to have one of the most effective public defense offices in the state.” Brave & brilliant. This was not right.
Who got fired: Dean Beer & Keisha Hudson. Montgomery County, PA chief defenders. “Under Beer and Hudson, the Philadelphia suburb was thought to have one of the most effective public defense offices in the state.” Brave & brilliant. This was not right.
What’s at stake: “Public defenders are on the front lines of the criminal justice system. No one gets a better view of the day-to-day problems in the country’s courts. It’s vital that public defender offices be free from political pressure.”
Who fired them: The County. “PA is 1 of 2 states that provide no state funding for indigent defense. All funding in PA comes from the counties. This makes the counties’ public defenders wholly dependent on local officials, who have an interest in their counties looking good.”
Why fired? County refuses to answer. But @radleybalko got his hands in internal emails, letters among Beer, the county, & sources close to the office. Confirmed: Fired “primarily bc he filed an amicus brief w/ PA State Supreme Court in a case about cash bail.” It was retaliation.
The brief: “Details how indigent defendants in Montgomery County are often given irrationally high bail. The brief also points out that defendants *aren’t provided with counsel before bail is set,* and that those who can’t pay are incarcerated for long periods before trial.”
Dean & Keisha had a duty to file: “A public defender has a responsibility to clients. For the head of a defender’s office, that obligation means not only ensuring that individual clients have effective representation, but also addressing broader, systemic issues in the system.”
Indeed: “In fact, public advocacy is esp impt for a chief public defender, bc there arestrong incentives that keep defense attorneys from reporting the systemic problems they experience day to day. Speaking out on those problems could make it a lot more difficult to do your job.”
Dean Bear speaks: "I’ve always told our attorneys that if you have a problem with a prosecutor or a judge, if something comes up in a case that’s wrong or unfair, bring it to me and let me deal with it. They need to preserve those relationships.”
Crisis of Independence: “If someone doesn’t address the problems, no one ever will. ‘Any time a public defender has to choose btwn putting food on his family’s table & zealous advocacy for clients, you’re going to have a conflict,’ said David Carroll of the 6th Amendment Center.”
Despite county claims to support “justice,” it’s false: “The county budgets about 3x more funding for the DA’s office than public defender, a discrepancy exacerbated by the fact that defense attorneys have to hire investigators, while prosecutors have access to police resources.”
How it started: ACLU filed a lawsuit in Philly about bail. PA Supreme Court agreed to hear it. ACLU asked Dean & Keisha’s office for a brief about their bail practices bc of their reputation. On 2/3 they filed it. Cited numerous instances of excessive bail. Then the judge called.
Mafia tactics: “Beer said the judge (Del Ricci) excoriated him & demanded withdraw the brief. The judge threatened to terminate the pretrial services program [he had promised], to report Beer to the state bar, & suggested his firing. Asked, “What are we going to do to fix this?”
Beer complained to the county about the judge. They said he had their support. Then things changed: “County sent Dean an email demanding he withdraw the brief, writing, ‘the lack of communication both w/ our office & courts beforehand was a fatal flaw in the strategy.’” Really.
Read: The County/Judge made clear that defenders must first get permission from them before filing a brief on behalf of their clients challenging unfair treatment by the County/Judge. “I don’t know of any lawyer who would say you should consult w/ a court before filing a brief.”
Then County sent a scathing letter. Again, @radleybalko got his hands on it. Link below. Letter slams the defenders for not asking the county to weigh in before proceeding. “But public defenders shouldn’t need to get permission to advocate for clients.” !!washingtonpost.com/context/letter…
Dean Beer—the Chief—was forced to make a brutal decision: He pulled the brief. “I didn’t want to jeopardize the pretrial program we were working on, and given all the pushback, I just thought it would be in the best interest of our clients to pull the brief.”
Even after Dean Beer pulled the brief, he *still got fired.* And so did Keisha Hudson, the deputy. Couldn’t be trusted anymore to just go along. Partner w/ the county & judges to preserve as much of the status quo as possible. They we’re doing their jobs. They were insubordinates
So what needs to happen: “The county commissioners need to explain why the two were fired,” Beer & Hudson must be reinstated, the county & judge must move forward with pretrial justice, & if they refuse, THEY must resign. Sign this petition: action.aclu.org/send-message/p…
