There is a historic change at the top at the office of Connecticut's chief public defender.
TaShun Bowden Lewis has become the first African American woman to head up the Division of Public Defender Services in Hartford. And the history of the moment is not lost on her. She tells the Hartford Courant that being the first Black woman in the post means a lot -- given the racial makeup of the division's clients.
Around 100,000 criminal, child protection, delinquency and family support cases are represented by the division every year.
As she and her defenders work those cases, Bowden Lewis says she hopes to provide minority clients with a greater trust in the criminal justice system.