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Five attorneys who run local public defender offices in Louisiana will be forced out of their jobs in July, and contracts for the 32 remaining district defenders are “under review” for potential changes, according to letters the lawyers received Thursday.
The notices are the latest in a years-long fight involving State Public Defender Rémy Starns, chief local public defenders and two separate boards over what control Starns should have over the attorney ssalaries.
Starns told the five district defenders he will not renew their annual contracts to run their offices, which cover parts of north and central Louisiana, when they expire in July. The lawyers who are losing their jobs have been the most outspoken about Starns’ efforts to cut their own pay and exert more influence over the public defender system.
They include 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.
The five testified multiple times before the state public defender boards and the Louisiana Legislature raising concerns about Starns’ proposals. Fuller is the president and AndrePont the secretary of the Public Defender Association of Louisiana.
AndrePont, Fuller and Hogue could not be reached at their offices or on cell phones Friday. Brunson and Ward declined to comment.
Starns did not return a call and text message to his phone Friday.
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Public defenders represent nearly every criminal defendant in the state. In the fiscal year 2022-23, 88% of people charged with crimes relied on a public defender, according to a state public defender financial report. Collectively, they had approximately 142,000 clients during that budget cycle.
Louisiana’s 37 district defenders coordinate and manage local operations. Some of them also handle individual criminal trials in court as part of their job duties.
Retired state Judge Frank Thaxton, who sits on the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board, confirmed Friday that Starns had decided not to continue five district defenders contracts. The Illuminator also obtained copies of some of the letters Starns sent.
“I have no idea why their contracts weren’t renewed,” Thaxton said when reached Friday. “If I knew why, I would tell you. But I don’t know why. He’s the only one who knows that.”
Thaxton, who frequently clashes with Starns, said the five district defenders in question have received positive reviews from their staff and judges.
Starns was initially given the job of state public defender during former Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration and Landry reappointed him last year.
Over the past four years, he has backed efforts in the Louisiana Legislature to give his position more authority over the district defenders. Last year, he and Landry helped pass a bill to weaken the state public defender board and strengthen his influence.
The new law dissolved the old state public defender board, which had to approve the hiring and firing of district defenders. Instead, a new public defender oversight board the governor controls has been put in place.
The new board doesn’t have the authority to directly hire or fire district defenders. Instead, most of that power has been transferred to Starns.
In 2023, the previous state public defender board put a standardized compensation plan in place for district defenders that Starns believes was too generous. At the time, board members said they were trying to make up for the fact that district defenders hadn’t received a pay increase or cost of living adjustment in at least 16 years.
After board members voted to increase the pay, Starns helped push through the legislation that dissolved the first public defender board and set up a new panel.
But the second board has also voted to overrule Starns twice and keep the old board’s pay scale for district defenders in place.
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The pay proposal Starns pushed as an alternative would have cut some district defenders’ pay by tens of thousands of dollars annually, which made the new board members uncomfortable.
State lawmakers had also put some measures in place to try to prevent Starns from firing district defenders – at least in the short term. The new law blocked Starns from getting rid of anyone in that position without cause until July 2025.
Earlier this month however, Starns sought an advisory opinion from Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office stating that he could unilaterally end district defender contracts this summer when they expire.
“There is no right to a hearing or an investigation if the annual contract is simply not renewed,” Assistant Attorney General Chimene St. Amant wrote in the legal memo.