Montgomery County has agreed to pay more than $300,0000 to settle suits brought by two former leaders of the county's Public Defender Office, who claimed they were wrongfully fired after they filed an amicus brief with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that raised concerns over the way the county court system was conducting bail hearings.

The lawsuits, brought by former Chief Public Defender Dean Beer and former Deputy Chief Public Defender Keisha Hudson, raised retaliation, whistleblower and First Amendment claims, with Hudson's settling in December and Beer's resolving last month. According to a spokeswoman for the county, Hudson's lawsuit settled for $110,000 and Beer's suit settled for $200,000.