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Public Defender director defends staffing and second‑chance hiring after lawmakers demand termination of employee tied to 2007 child death investigation
Summary
Lawmakers demanded the Missouri State Public Defender Commission seek termination after learning an employee, previously convicted on charges tied to conduct surrounding a 2007 child's death, was hired and later rehired; the director defended the agency's hiring rules and noted the commission revised its policy after lawmakers' letters.
The Missouri State Public Defender’s director told the House Budget Committee the agency is an independent department that provides representation to indigent defendants and that its hiring policies permit hiring people with prior convictions in many circumstances — a stance that drew sharp criticism from several members of the committee.
Mary Fox, director of the Missouri State Public Defender, said the agency represents about 56,000 new cases a year, employs roughly 700 people and operates 47 offices. Fox told the committee the agency is "the independent department of the judiciary that provides representation to those persons who are in the criminal justice system who have either a felony, a misdemeanor, an appeal, a post conviction case" and said the agency determines indigence under statute and regulation.
The hearing turned contentious after Representative Deaton summarized an older criminal case and lawmakers pressed Fox on the agency's decision to hire and later rehire a man identified in committee testimony as David Spears, who had pled guilty to child endangerment and hindering prosecution related to a 2007 investigation into the disappearance and death of a 9-year-old girl. The commission said it reviewed hiring rules after a letter from Representative Roberts and changed policy language to require consultation with the commission chair and director when background checks produce adverse information.
Representative Roberts told the committee he and other lawmakers expected the commission to pursue termination and tightened hiring protocols; in the hearing, he said, "I wanna know how you're gonna terminate him, not why you can't." Representative Prouty said he would vote against the entire appropriations bill while Spears remains employed: "It's a no on this entire book." Several other lawmakers expressed anger and asked the commission to return with more substantive remedies.
Fox said the agency follows a written policy in which a criminal conviction does not automatically disqualify an applicant and that hiring decisions in the past were reviewed by agency HR and senior staff. She said the commission consulted internal and outside employment counsel when evaluating whether the commission had authority to terminate a clerical employee and that changes were made to the hiring policy to add conflict-of-interest review and to require the director to notify and consult with the commission chair before finalizing hires when a problematic background appears.
Why it matters: the dispute ties personnel policy, the commission's statutory authority and public perceptions of justice together in a high-profile personnel controversy that several lawmakers said undermines public confidence.
Committee action and next steps: committee leaders agreed to pause further budget consideration of the public defender presentation and asked the agency to consult with the commission and provide further responses; members requested attorney-general or outside counsel input and follow-up materials. No appropriation vote was taken at the session.
