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Office of the Chief Public Defender in the state office building at 55 Farmington Ave. in Hartford in December 2025. Credit: Josie Reich / CT Mirror

More than a year after TaShun Bowden-Lewis was fired as Connecticut’s chief public defender, attorney John Day was named to the post on Tuesday. 

Day has been serving as interim chief public defender for the agency since Bowden-Lewis was fired in June 2024. The Public Defender Services Commission, which oversees the Office of the Chief Public Defender, unanimously chose Day to continue in the role.

The Commission found in 2024 that Bowden-Lewis had accessed employees’ email accounts without permission, ignored the commission’s authority and engaged in a “pattern of misconduct” against employees, resulting in “a Division-wide climate of fear and intimidation.” 

Bowden-Lewis subsequently filed a federal lawsuit in which she claimed the commission discriminated against her because of her race. She is seeking back pay, benefits and attorneys fees. The case is ongoing. 

Public Defender Services Commission Chairman Richard Palmer told CT Mirror in a statement that Day had agreed to postpone his retirement for 18 months. He said this would give Day the opportunity to complete projects that he began while serving in his interim role. 

“We are pleased that John is willing to do so and look forward to working closely and cooperatively with him in the best interest of the division over that 18-month period,” Palmer said. 

The Office of the Public Defender Services has struggled in recent years to find staffing as pay rates stagnated. In 2023, the state raised the income threshold that allows people to qualify for public defenders from 200% to 250% of the federal poverty level, increasing the office’s potential number of clients. The legislature has raised the hourly rate of assigned counsel to $98, but it remains below the federal hourly rate of $177 and below that of other New England States.

Because of a shortage of attorneys, the agency has fallen short of its own standards for child welfare visits, leading to a request to hire 20 additional social workers. A lack of funding led the agency to hire only six social workers. The department has said it plans to request $10.7 million over the next three years so that it can increase hourly pay for assigned counsel to $120. 

Day did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Emilia Otte is CT Mirror's Justice Reporter, where she covers the conditions in Connecticut prisons, the judicial system and migration. Prior to working for CT Mirror, she spent four years at CT Examiner, where she covered education, healthcare and children's issues both locally and statewide. She graduated with a BA in English from Bryn Mawr College and a MA in Global Journalism from New York University, where she specialized in Europe and the Mediterranean.