"If it gets too large, it would be like having an agency running an agency," she said.
But the board's small size leaves it open to criticism that it is acting politically, said David J. Carroll, research director of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. He said Maryland's oversight board seems to violate the American Bar Association's principle of political independence, one of its standards for indigent defense.
"It only takes two votes to fire someone for a political reason," Carroll said. "That's not to say that is what happened, but it gives a perception. And you shouldn't have that perception when it comes to right to counsel."
Mead said neither she nor McCurdy was influenced by anyone in the decision to fire Forster. "There's no political agenda here whatsoever," she said.
O'Malley, through a spokesman, has said he had nothing to do with the board's decision to fire Forster, though he had a frosty relationship with her because of her refusal to cut agency expenses.
The Democratic governor appointed Mead and Moore last year and reappointed McCurdy, whom Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, had placed on the board during his tenure.
Forster supporters, who include former Public Defender Stephen E. Harris, have circulated letters sent by McCurdy in the early 1990s that they say indicate he has long sought to reduce the scope of the defender's office. In them, McCurdy questioned whether public defenders were representing too many people - defendants who might have the means to hire their own attorneys.
In an anonymous e-mail to "Marylanders," one of the supporters says those letters show that McCurdy views the Office of the Public Defender "as a competitor for his business." Forster has said she wants her job back and has hired employment law attorneys to review her termination.
McCurdy did not return messages seeking comment Friday. Mead dismissed as "ridiculous" any assertion that McCurdy has a veiled agenda and said all three board members serve because they are "devoted to making the agency the best it can be."
Carroll said none of the roughly two dozens states with public defender oversight boards has three or fewer members. Most, he said, have nine or more. Louisiana and South Carolina have 15. New Hampshire has 24.
Another way to ensure the political independence of head public defenders, Carroll said, is to have diverse appointing authorities for their boards. Some states allow the legislature and judiciary to appoint some members. Some include law school deans and the private bar in the process.
