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Crowd In Norristown Protests Cash Bail And Firing Public Defenders

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Crowd In Norristown Protests Cash Bail And Firing Public Defenders.

Chanting loudly and carrying placards, more than 100 people assembled on the steps in front of the Court House in Norristown this morning. They were there to protest the firing of Dean Beer and Keisha Hudson. Until late last month, Beer was the Chief Public Defender, and Hudson was the Deputy Chief Defender of the Montgomery County Public Defenders Office.

The day after they were “relieved of their duties,” Marian Dennis wrote in the Pottstown Mercury that, “John Corcoran, director of communications for the county board of commissioners, would not comment further about the dismissals, saying it was a personnel matter.”

Yesterday, Carl Hessler Jr., who also writes for the Mercury, released a copy of a letter from Lee Soltysiak to Beer. Soltysiak is the Montgomery County Chief Operating Officer. 

In the letter, Soltysiak chastised Beer for filing an Amicus Brief in the ACLU Cash Bail Case that is currently before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In the letter Soltysiak wrote,

“You know the administration is in favor of the reform sought in the case and in fact you are aware that changes to the pre-trial process in Montgomery County have been budgeted for and are being pursued. In an effort to advance this effort state-wide, you put at risk the collaborative efforts of your office, the Courts, the District Attorney, and County Administration to bring about a positive change in bail practices for you clients in Montgomery County.”

The County Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Public Defender are both appointed by the County Commissioners (Val Arkoosh, Ken Lawrence and Joe Gale).  The commissioners, and only the commissioners, had the final say in determining whether or not to dismiss Dean and Hudson.