Local Leaders Condemn Firing Of Montco Public Defenders

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Local leaders and advocacy groups are condemning the recent firing of Montgomery County's two chief public defenders, saying they were merely calling out injustices with the existing system.

Both Dean Beer and Keisha Hudson Brooks were replaced at the top of the county's public defender's office this week. The move came shortly after the office filed an amicus brief arguing against the county's practice of holding bail hearings without lawyers of the accused present, and citing "systemic failures" in the existing system.

"I condemn Tuesday's firing of Montgomery County Public Defenders Dean Beer and Keisha Hudson," State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-17) said in a statement Friday, noting the pair had stood up against "Montgomery County's antiquated and onerous bail system, which incarcerates far too many people for the non-crime of not having enough money."

>>Montgomery County's Head Public Defenders Have Been Replaced

Montgomery County declined to comment on the move, noting that it is not policy to comment on personnel matters. On Friday evening, the county released a statement saying they are in "full support of justice reform efforts and specifically cash bail reform" but not comment on the change in leadership.

"We recognize that people of color as well as economically disadvantaged people are disproportionately impacted by our justice system," the statement reads in part, noting that "This administration wants to put an end to

The county added that they had thoroughly researched plans to fund a new pre-trial services unit in 2020, and that interviews for positions on the unit were already underway. The unit is a "significant step" in justice reform int he county, officials said.

The original announcement regarding the leadership change, released earlier this week, noted the public defenders that would replace Beer and Brooks — Carol Sweeney and Greg Nester — but did not say why Beer and Brooks, staunch supporters of such reforms, were no longer in charge.

Jonathan Rapping, the founder of Gideon's Promise, a non-profit which supports public defenders around the nation, called the pair national leaders.

"Their work has made them leaders in the effort to ensure that equal justice is a reality in this country," he said. "Any effort to chill a public defender's zeal to correct unconstitutional practices cannot be tolerated."

The brief filed by the public defender's office in February was in support of a lawsuit filed in July 2019 in Philadelphia by ACLU in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The case is still under consideration by the court, but has already earned concessions from officials in Philadelphia that, in certain cases, would lead to suspects who do not need to be incarcerated being released before their trial.

The brief cited cases in Montgomery County that were critical of cash bail and how the practice was being utilized by Montgomery County government. It cited a case where an impoverished teenage mother in the county was held on $50,000 cash bail for more than a month over a fight she had a with another girl. Lawyers were not present at the bail determination hearing, and while incarcerated (unjustly, Beer's office argued), she had no access to breast milk preservation, ability to nurse her baby, or a pumping machine.

It's just one example of how such nuance is lost when lawyers are not present at cash bail hearings, public defenders argue.

"Cash bail is, and always has been, a way to warehouse poor people," Leach, who has introduced legislation in Pennsylvania to eliminate cash bail, said in his statement.

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners has not publicly commented on the amicus brief.

"Rather than firing people who blow the whistle on bad practices, we should be thanking them for their service in a field where the pay is low, the work is hard and the deck is always stacked against them," Leach added, urging the county to reinstate Beer and Brooks.

“If it turns out that Montgomery County is using that power to rid itself of public defender leaders who shine a light on the county’s unconstitutional practices against the people the public defender is charged with representing, it warrants the attention of anybody who is concerned about equal justice in America," Rapping added.

Cash bail has long been a controversial topic in Pennsylvania and around the country. Proponents argue the risk which released suspects pose, while critics note that it unfairly targets the less wealthy and does more harm than good.

The state Supreme Court ordered an "inquiry" into the bail system in Philadelphia specifically in July 2019, which is ongoing. The court has ruled that it will allow lower courts to hear arguments, while playing a supervisory role above them.