A hearing that could lead to the dismissal of chief Public Defender TaShun Bowden-Lewis will take place in public next week, the commission that oversees the state Public Defender service has disclosed.
It was Bowden-Lewis‘s choice under state personnel rules whether what amounts to a disciplinary hearing is open to the public or closed.
The hearing has been scheduled for 2 p.m. April 16 in the legislative office building, according to an agenda released by the Public Defender Services Commission.
The commission also published on its website two documents that are likely to figure permanently in the hearing, an October letter of reprimand issued to Bowden Lewis and a notice of charges against her prepared last month.
The charges include, among others, allegations of “repeated unfounded accusations of discrimination, bias, and retaliation against the commission,” insubordination against the commission, low morale, and treatment of staff in the division.
Bowden-Lewis, the first Black woman to hold her position, has been on a paid suspension since early in February after about 20 unsettled months in office.
She had been publicly reprimanded for defying the Public Defender Services Commission, which by law has the final word on division hiring, spending and policy. An investigation by a private law firm accused her of bullying employees, withholding resources to those she believed were disloyal and implying that disagreement with her instructions is the result of racism. Unionized public defenders voted 121-9 in February that they lack confidence in her leadership.
In response, Bowden-Lewis has complained for more than a year that she has been treated differently than previous office holders because of her race and, in letters signed by an employment lawyer, threatened to sue the commission.
Her dispute with the oversight commission escalated in February with new allegations that she instructed a junior member of the division’s information technology team a month earlier to search the computer system for email conversations between division lawyers and commission Chairman Richard N. Palmer — at a time when the commission was considering disciplining her.
A private company hired by the Division of Public Defender Services then issued a report on the email breaches, which is among the matters considered by the commission as it decides on Bowden-Lewis’s future, the notice of charges says.
According to two lawyers with first hand knowledge of the matter, the junior staffer used a software program to search the division computer system for exchanges involving Palmer. Ultimately, about a dozen exchanges, some legally privileged, between Palmer and two senior division lawyers were downloaded and printed, the lawyers said.
Palmer would not discuss the email report or upcoming meeting. Bowden-Lewis could not be reached.
Under state personnel rules, Bowden-Lewis can challenge the charges and be represented by an attorney. She will be represented by Thomas Bucci.
State personnel experts said the commission could impose a range of discipline up to termination. In the event of an adverse decision, Bowden-Lewis could challenge it in the courts.
There is also the possibility the state could make a financial settlement with Bowden-Lewis, eliminating the need for hearings and appeals. That’s what the state did last year when it paid $200,000 to settle a wrongful termination suit by former commissioner of public health Renee D. Coleman, who Gov. Ned Lamont fired early in the coronavirus pandemic.
CT public defender tells oversight commission division is ‘fractured along racial lines’
Bowden-Lewis’ conflicts with successive oversight commissions date to her appointment.
Four members of the five member commission that appointed her resigned as a group early in 2023 when she accused it of racism and threatened to sue for rejecting her appointment of a division human resources director.
The commission had decided that Bowden-Lewis candidate, Paula Lohr, a Black woman, was not qualified for the position and chose instead to appoint Erin Ryan, a white woman it considered better qualified.
The commission now in place was appointed to replace those who resigned. It hired the Hartford law firm Shipman & Goodwin to investigate low morale and other issues at the division and its reported, among other things, that Bowden-Lewis eventually succeeded in making Lohr acting director by forcing Ryan to resign.
“Our factual findings lead us to conclude that Ms. Bowden-Lewis had a preferred individual for the HR Director role and thus made the working environment for Ms. Ryan hostile,” the report said. “We conclude that Ms. Bowden-Lewis marginalized Ms. Ryan specifically so that she could appoint her choice for the HR Director role—Paula Lohr—on an interim basis, thereby circumventing the established requirements for the job.”
Other division employees have complained of being treated abusively or retaliated against after somehow displeasing Bowden-Lewis.
There also have been allegations that Bowden-Lewis ordered staff not to comply with public records requests made under state Freedom of Information law, in particular requests for records that would detail her work schedule.
Multiple division employees said Bowden-Lewis took control of the public records review process, cutting out the legal officer who is responsible for such reviews under division regulations. They said she also ordered the division information technology officer not to undertake data searches needed to comply with records requests without her explicit approval.
In October, the commission issued the unusual public reprimand of Bowden-Lewis for allowing division morale to plummet, disregarding its instructions and leveling baseless allegations of racism against those who disagree with her, including commission members.
“You have engaged in a practice of marginalizing members of the Division with whom you disagree or who you do not like or respect, and you have engaged in a practice of retaliating against persons who you perceive as standing up to you or who otherwise express their disagreement with you,“ the letter said.
“You frequently talk about “collaboration,” “cooperation,” “communication” and transparency” but too often you do not engage in those critically important practices, either in your dealings with the Commission or in your dealings with members of the Division.”
One of the last clashes between Bowden-Lewis and the commission took place in January when she publicly disputed its authority over division hiring policy.
