MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The chief public defender Minnesota’s most populous county was suspended indefinitely Monday while a state board investigates issues that have not been publicly explained.
Hennepin County defense attorney Mary Moriarty told the Star Tribune she received the news in an email from the state chief public defender. Moriarty became the first woman to hold the chief defender job when she was appointed in 2014.
A spokesman for the state Board of Public Defense said in a statement that Moriarty will be on paid leave “pending a review of issues that have been brought to the attention” of board members. There will be no further comment until the investigation is completed, the spokesman said.
“I don’t know what happens next,” Moriarty said. “This is a complete surprise, out of the blue.”
However, Moriarty said she was summoned to appear before a three-person panel of the state Board of Public Defense on Wednesday. She said she was asked about her “inflexibility” with other criminal justice officials; having “excessive absences” with no explanation; an allegation of “racism” she had made; a 9-month-old retweet referring to the anniversary of a lynching; and a “culture of fear” in the office she runs.
She disputed all the claims and said she was baffled by many of them. “Nobody had brought any of this to my attention,” she said.
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