Conn.’s new chief public defender selected
HARTFORD — The commission responsible for overseeing the public defenders across the state has a new permanent leader.
The Public Defender Services Commission on Tuesday selected John Day as the new chief public defender. He plans to work as chief for the next 18 months before he retires.
Day has led the agency on an acting basis for almost two years since the panel parted ways with its former chief public defender, Tashun BowdenLewis, following a contentious two-year tenure marked by repeated clashes and allegations of misconduct.
The commission made the decision after conducting interviews behind closed doors with Day and three other candidates.
“Members of the commission appreciate the work John has done on behalf
of the Division of Public Defender Services in an acting capacity for nearly two full years and he has undertaken several projects, among other endeavors that the commission wants John to have the opportunity to complete,” said retired Justice Richard Palmer, chairman of the public defender
services commission.
Day said following the meeting that he’s excited to serve as chief public defender for the next 18 months.
“I look forward to helping usher the agency into a new era,” Day said.
Day has worked for the Division of Public Defender Services for 28 years.
He represented clients in juvenile court, then was director of assigned counsel until being appointed to deputy chief public defender, according to the division.
Other candidates for the position include Deborah Del Prete Sullivan, the agency’s legal counsel; Damian Tucker, Hartford
Public Defender; and W. Theodore Koch III, a private attorney at Koch, Garg Walker & Smart.
The Division of Public Defender Services is independent of the state and represents indigent individuals in criminal cases, child protection and family support.
The division was established in 1917 and is the country’s first statewide public defense system. The division has employees in approximately 38 offices and six specialized units. Public defenders handle more than 100,000 cases annually and the division has an annual budget of $100 million, according to the commission.
In 2022, Bowden-Lewis made history as the first Black chief public defender in the state. She previously served as a public defender in Superior Court in Waterbury, and was the supervisory public defender in Waterbury Part A, where the most serious cases are heard, before being named chief public defender.
The decision to remove Bowden-Lewis came after a protracted hearing in 2024, during which she denied all allegations of misconduct, and said she did “not see anything worthy of this commission removing me from this position and taking away my ability of providing for my family and destroying my almost 30-year career with this agency.”
Since her firing, Bowden-Lewis’ filed two lawsuits, one in state court and one in federal court, against the commission. A federal judge last month ruled that Bowden-Lewis’ civil rights lawsuit can proceed. Bowden-Lewis is suing for racial discrimination and violation of her Constitutional right to equal protection.
The suit seeks an injunction requiring the commission to reinstate Bowden-Lewis as chief public defender and financial compensation, including legal fees and costs.