Hearing over TaShun Bowden-Lewis’ future highlights turmoil

Dozens of people attended a hearing on Tuesday over the fate of Connecticut’s first Black chief public defender, TaShun Bowden-Lewis, which ended without a resolution and raised concerns about the discord between the career attorney and the Division of Public Defender Services’ regulatory oversight body. 

The roughly four-hour hearing comes about two months after the Public Defender Services Commission placed Bowden-Lewis on paid administrative leave following recurring disputes between the two and allegations that she improperly instructed a subordinate to access email accounts belonging to people critical of her. 

Bowden-Lewis is also facing accusations of unethical and untruthful behavior, bullying people critical of her decisions and unfairly suggesting that people are racist for not falling in line with her vision, all of which resulted in a vote of no confidence from 121 unionized staff members earlier this year. 

The commission will rely on the preponderance of evidence standards to determine whether to discipline Bowden-Lewis, which could include her termination from office, and will announce its decision publicly. But state law requires that a public hearing happen before the commission can make a decision.

“I’ve not been accused of embezzling funds, having intimate relations with employees or clients, or being arrested for breaking the law,” Bowden-Lewis said. “I did not see anything worthy of this commission removing me from this position and taking away my ability to provide for my family.”

The room was packed with division employees, who were mostly white, while many of Bowden-Lewis’ supporters, most of whom were Black, sat either directly behind her or opposite the agency’s staff. It grew tense as some commission members exhibited irritation, raised their voice or cut off Bowden-Lewis during their exchanges with her. 

Members of the public gasped, remarked or were visibly disturbed by the heated exchanges with Bowden-Lewis, which on at least two occasions resulted in commission members asking people in the crowd to keep quiet. 

The meeting concluded with an agreement between the commission and Bowden-Lewis’ attorney, Thomas W. Bucci, that he be granted an opportunity to cross-examine people who have levied accusations against her if he chooses. 

Prior to that, retired state Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer, chair of the Public Defender Services Commission, verbally outlined 16 charges from a 26-page document that the panel is contemplating in its decision regarding Bowden-Lewis’ future. 

It includes claims of “disrespectful” treatment of two division employees — former Human Resources Director Erin Ryan and former Executive Assistant Leonie Campbell — whom the commission claims she treated embarrassingly and dismissively because she wanted different people in those positions. 

The document mentions the alleged unfair treatment of two senior division attorneys — Deborah Del Prete Sullivan, the agency’s legal counsel, and Joseph Lopez, the division’s director of complex litigation — whose emails she “inappropriately” accessed, along with Palmer’s, allegedly because of their criticism of her.

It accuses Bowden-Lewis of dishonesty toward the commission, such as promising to post a position to assist Lopez in his capacity as director of complex litigation but ultimately not doing so because of her contempt for him.

It cites her alleged “refusal” to accept responsibility for her actions. For example, she suggested that the commission was treating her unfairly when it admonished her for not taking an appropriations request to the panel, as required by state law, before sending it to the governor and his budget office. She said she was complying with what she understood to be standard practice with previous chiefs, as communicated to her by her budget team.

And the document highlights her alleged unwillingness to acknowledge the statutory authority and responsibilities of the commission and pointed to her personal quarrels with Palmer over Bowden-Lewis’ belief that the commission has improperly undermined her decisions. 

Some of the claims were corroborated through an independent investigation by Shipman & Goodwin LLP, a law firm where Palmer worked during the late 1970s. The state recently tapped the firm to investigate whether state troopers intentionally falsified ticketing data. 

Bowden-Lewis noted that while the Shipman & Goodwin inquiry into allegations of mistreatment concluded that she had bullied or marginalized employees who she did not favor or who questioned her, it also determined that none of her conduct amounted to discrimination, harassment or an illegal hostile work environment under state law. 

She emphasized that members of a state agency should not expect privacy when it comes to their emails. She said she asserted her authority as the chief to oversee the email communications between her subordinates and others due to a lack of transparency from individuals like Sullivan, the legal counsel, regarding the division’s operations.

The commission concluded that Bowden-Lewis had ordered a subordinate to improperly access emails that Palmer said were legally privileged.

Sullivan is considered the legal counsel for both the commission and Bowden-Lewis, a source of conflict in recent months. Many of the disputes have centered on different interpretations of the Connecticut statute outlining the working relationship between the commission and the chief public defender. 

Additionally, Bowden-Lewis expressed her desire for a fair chance to learn and grow on the job, similar to the opportunities given to her predecessors. But she argued that the commission, notably Palmer, has resisted opportunities for peace. 

“The Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office have spoken to Justice Palmer about agreeing to have a third-party conversation between he and I, but he declined,” Bowden-Lewis testified. “I’m ready and willing to talk and find a common ground.”

When discussing the allegations of Bowden-Lewis’ unfair treatment of Ryan and Campbell, Palmer appeared frustrated that she repeatedly referred to the investigation’s finding that there was no violation of state law in her conduct. 

“Are you saying that the report does not say that you created a hostile work environment for the purpose of forcing Attorney Ryan out of that job so that you could replace her with Miss Lohr?” Palmer asked, referencing the agency’s acting human resources director, Paula Lohr. 

“I read to you what the report says. That’s my answer,” Bowden-Lewis said.

“Would you answer my questions? Palmer asked. “Is it yes or no?”

“The report concluded that neither the conduct alleged by Miss Campbell nor Miss Ryan amounted to discrimination, harassment or an illegal hostile work environment. That’s my response to your question,” Bowden-Lewis responded. 

“Alright, you heard my question, right?” Palmer said. 

“I responded to your question,” Bowden-Lewis said. 

“No, you didn’t respond to my question, but I’m going to move on. You did not respond to my question, but I’ll move on,” Palmer responded, resulting in gasps from people observing the exchange. Similar exchanges occurred between Bowden-Lewis and commission members Sheila M. Prats and Elliot N. Solomon, both of whom are judges. 

After Bowden-Lewis’ attorney decides to either cross-examine witnesses or rest his case — a decision expected on Wednesday — the commission is expected to meet in a closed-door meeting to determine the next course of action. It is unclear when the proceedings will occur.

“I am not perfect. Anything I have done to offend anyone, I apologize for. I need, and I desire, and deserve to be allowed to make mistakes, learn from them and correct them,” Bowden-Lewis said. “As all my predecessors, I should be able to work within my authority as chief, which means making decisions on my own, have the flexibility to change my mind, and operating within my statutory authority, unencumbered.”