We are employees working in the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office. We had no idea our Chief, Mary Moriarty, was under investigation until we received an email that she had been suspended.

We did not ask for her to be removed. We have not asked for a new chief. We did not ask for this investigation.

Any decisions regarding the leadership of OUR office must involve US.

We know our office culture- its strengths and weaknesses- better than anyone.

We have devoted our professional lives to helping our clients and, collectively, have hundreds of years of experience doing so. When there is a question about how to best serve our clients, we must not be left out of the process.

We demand that no conclusive action be taken on this matter until after the Board of Public Defense has met with us, allowed us to provide input, and given us an opportunity to ask questions.