{"id":1229,"date":"2026-06-04T18:35:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1229"},"modified":"2026-06-04T18:35:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T18:35:23","slug":"embattled-head-of-colorados-office-of-the-alternate-defense-counsel-placed-on-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1229","title":{"rendered":"Embattled head of Colorado\u2019s Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel placed on leave"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The commission overseeing Colorado\u2019s Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel placed the agency\u2019s embattled leader on administrative leave Thursday.<\/p>\n

Read more Spilled nails on U.S. 285 near Morrison damage tires on dozens of cars<\/a><\/p>\n

The move comes after attorneys in Colorado\u2019s indigent defense community revolted against new executive director Joanna Landau in a two-hour public meeting on May 22, criticizing a culture shift she spearheaded in the small state agency that attorneys worry might undermine Colorado\u2019s indigent criminal defense.<\/p>\n

The nine-member volunteer commission announced Friday that it would launch an investigation into Landau. The commission followed that announcement Thursday morning with a public vote to place the executive director on paid leave during that investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point I think it\u2019s really difficult for Joanna to do any kind of job that positively impacts the (agency),\u201d said commission member John Ponikvar. \u201cWe need to get this job done. We still need to protect clients and provide services, and under this current circumstance, I don\u2019t see how that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an email to The Denver Post on Wednesday evening, Landau said she expected to be placed on administrative leave Thursday and that she supported the move. She previously told The Post she welcomed \u201can independent and impartial investigation\u201d and framed the public discontent as expected pushback to change after she replaced a leader who\u2019d spent two decades in the role.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe investigation has my full support, and I will not challenge this decision,\u201d Landau said in the email. \u201cMy greatest priority is supporting this team and the contractors doing the constitutionally critical work of representing our indigent clients. I am devastated that this situation has had a negative impact on our ADC work for clients.\u201d<\/p>\n

She concluded the email by noting that she would be at a Denver golf course frequently during her administrative leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be on the city park (sic) golf driving range most days during this administrative leave from 10-12,\u201d she wrote. \u201cMaybe at the range or the cafe.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She clarified her comment Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe golf comment was meant to convey, instead of helping our clients, contractors and staff, this is all I can do now,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is devastating not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Man gets 6 years in prison for pimping in Denver area<\/a><\/p>\n

The commission named the current deputy director of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, Darren Cantor, as acting executive director on Thursday. The group voted to put out a request for proposals Thursday for investigative firms to conduct the probe into Landau, and set a 5 p.m. Monday deadline for proposals to be returned.<\/p>\n

The commission discussed balancing speed with a thorough and independent investigation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do think we need to act quickly, but sometimes that can be our biggest regret,\u201d said commission member Deborah Wilson.<\/p>\n

The investigation will consider Landau\u2019s performance, the workplace environment, specific written complaints about Landau, employment discrimination and information \u201cput out to the public\u201d that was inaccurate, the commissioners decided.<\/p>\n

Landau has spent nine months at the helm of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, known as ADC. The 41-person state agency contracts with private defense attorneys to represent indigent defendants who cannot be represented by the Office of the State Public Defender, typically when public defenders have conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

The agency contracts with roughly 1,200 attorneys and support staff in such cases. About 200 people attended the May 22 meeting, in which nearly two dozen speakers expressed concerns about Landau\u2019s leadership. At the core of the complaints was a sense that Landau\u2019s top-down, arms-length approach to leadership was undermining a tight-knit indigent defense community, and that her focus on fiscal responsibility might limit the ability of attorneys to mount full defenses.<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Post on Monday, Landau said she started the job by having \u201ccandid\u201d discussions with current staff about problems at the agency and has used those conversations to guide the changes she has made. She defended her approach and said her actions have been aimed at improving the office.<\/p>\n

Read more A wood-fired pizza oven keeps on burning in Capitol Hill<\/a><\/p>\n

Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The commission overseeing Colorado’s Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel placed the agency’s embattled leader Joanna Landau on administrative leave Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-courts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEmbattled head of Colorado\u2019s Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel placed on leave - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=1229\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Embattled head of Colorado\u2019s Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel placed on leave - 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