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Leaders of the legislature's two crime committees said this week that they would consider hearings into last week's abrupt dismissal of Nancy S. Forster, the Maryland public defender, by the board of trustees that oversees her office.

"I want to see how things shake out," Sen. Brian E. Frosh, chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Monday. "I've heard good things about her replacement. I don't know yet. It's under consideration, let's put it that way."

Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the General Assembly could look at the process of the firing, and the composition and size of the board.

"Before we would hold public hearings, I would want some legal counsel on what legal effect they would have on civil action," Rosenberg (D-Dist. 41) of Baltimore, said Monday.

Forster reportedly has hired Baltimore attorney William H. Murphy Jr. and James McCollum of College Park to represent her.

Forster could not be reached for comment.

On Thursday, the three-member Office of Public Defender Board of Trustees voted 2-1 to terminate Forster, according to a statement she sent out. She claimed the meeting was a violation of the Maryland Open Meetings Act.

She said she was ordered to terminate "a well-respected African-American District public defender, for absolutely no reason."

Forster's statement also said he was asked to perform other "unlawful and wrongful acts." She refused.

The board member who voted against Forster's dismissal, Theresa L. Moore of Camp Springs, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Elizabeth Julian, the Baltimore city public defender, has been selected as acting public defender until a search finds Forster's replacement, said Kimberlee Schultz, spokeswoman for the public defender's office.

Schultz refused to comment on Forster's assertion about unlawful or wrongful acts, but she said Julian will not be making any changes to the office.

"Any changes will be up to whoever becomes the public defender," Schultz said.

Rosenberg called the dismissal "the Thursday night massacre," drawing a comparison to the "the Saturday night massacre" when President Nixon ordered the firing of the special prosecutor investigating the Watergate scandal; two resignations followed.

"I think when you're talking about a constitutionally protected, guaranteed right, criminal defense for indigent citizens, that it clearly needs a review by more than three gubernatorial appointees," Rosenberg said.

Among the changes could be the dismantling of the unit that handles death penalty crimes.

"When you're talking about capital punishment, it's critically important to have people who are experts," said Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda. "The thought of assigning capital cases randomly to any public defender in the queue is unnerving."

Del. Michael D. Smigiel Sr., a defense attorney and a Judiciary Committee member, praised Forster's work representing the public defender before the committee.

"I have nothing but the utmost respect for her," said Smigiel (R-Dist. 36) of Elkton. "It takes a lot of integrity to stand on principle, and it appears from the statement that was released that is what she's doing."

On Friday, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) released a statement saying he would have no comment on the termination.