Three finalists named for chief Hennepin County public defender

Three finalists have been selected to lead the Hennepin County public defender's office, a position that's turned over twice in the past three years.

The Minnesota Board of Public Defense looks to name a new chief following a final round of interviews April 11, according to a list of finalists obtained by the Star Tribune. The finalists include: Michael Berger, Greg Egan and Shawn Webb.

The position oversees the state's largest public defender's office with a budget of about $9 million and more than 200 staffers.

Hennepin County has been without a chief public defender for half a year. Former chief Kassius Benson resigned in October after news surfaced over the summer of an IRS investigation into his private practice, along with a drunken driving charge. He was indicted on 17 counts of federal tax evasion in February.

Benson had replaced Mary Moriarty, after the board declined to reappoint her in 2020. An investigation found that she fractured relationships with criminal justice leaders and that she failed to differentiate between her personal social media account and that of the Fourth Judicial District Public Defender's Office. She was elected in November to lead the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.

When Benson was a candidate in 2020 to succeed Moriarty, he faced Webb, managing attorney at the public defender's office in the First Judicial District, which encompasses Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, McLeod, Scott and Sibley counties.

Webb, also an adjunct professor at Mitchell-Hamline School of Law, is again vying for the job.

Berger is managing attorney at the public defender's office in the 10th Judicial District, which encompasses Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, Washington and Wright counties.

Egan is assistant Ramsey County public defender, and also recently served as chair of Minnesota's task force on aiding and abetting felony murder. The Legislature established the task force in June 2021 to consider a nationwide trend of limiting this charge because people can be punished for murder when they did not kill, injure or even intend harm.

The public defenders' union steward Bob Kolstad said in an interview that staff want a long-term replacement. "Someone who could stay for four or eight years would be good," he said, adding they want to feel supported with a consensus builder as chief.

"There is a sense in the office that we don't know what direction things are going to go without having someone there to lead us," he said. "It's not clear for people what it's going to be like to work there, what the expectations are going to be, what the tone of things is going to be."

State Public Defender Bill Ward, who oversees the board, and Kevin Kajer, the board's chief administrator, both declined requests for comment.

The chief annual salary ranges from $140,317 to $161,398. It's a four-year position.