Gov. Jeff Landry appoints Louisiana public defender, new public defender board members

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed a state public defender and a public defender oversight board.

Landry signed SB8 on Wednesday afternoon. SB8 was a bill written by State Sen. Mike Reese (R-La.) to create the office of state public defender and give authority to the Louisiana State Public Defender Oversight Board.

Landry selected Rémy V. Starns to remain the state’s public defender, a position he has held since 2020.

Landry also appointed four new members of the oversight board: Paul J. deMahy, Phyllis M. Keaty, Freddie Pitcher Jr. and Peter M. Thomson.

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