Read Their Own Words: Finalists for Chief State's Attorney Job Face Hot Issues
The ACLU of Connecticut asked 17 questions to finalists vying for the chief state's attorney job.
January 15, 2020 at 03:23 PM
5 minute read
The four finalists in the running to become Connecticut's top prosecutor aren't saying much publicly during the job interview process.
But their answers to a 17-question survey from the ACLU of Connecticut's Smart Justice Campaign provide some insight into how they might run the office, if they rise to chief state's attorney.
|Click on the finalists' names below to read their full survey answers:
The think tank's questions elicit "yes" or "no" responses, but many also start with a premise that a positive response serves "fairness and transparency," an interview tactic that appeared designed to elicit certain answers for the record.
One question, for instance, asked: "Will you commit to fairness and accountability by supporting legislation creating an independent conviction integrity unit to review and investigate innocence claims presented by people convicted of violent offenses? Please give a clear 'Yes' or 'No' to the question and any explanation."
Finalist Richard Colangelo Jr., who's been the state's attorney for the Judicial District of Stamford/Norwalk since July 2015, noted the disparate issues.
"No," he answered. "While I commit to fairness and accountability, I do not believe legislation is (needed) to accomplish a conviction integrity unit. If I am the CSA, I plan on having a conviction integrity unit."
Colangelo is vying for the job, along with Kevin Lawlor, deputy chief state's attorney for operations; Erik Lohr, associate attorney general for legal counsel in the Office of the Attorney General; and Maureen Platt, state's attorney for the Judicial District of Waterbury. They are finalists to replace former Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane, who stepped down Dec. 1.
Connecticut's Criminal Justice Commission is expected to choose Kane's replacement by Jan. 30.
The attorneys answered the survey from the ACLU's 20-month-old Smart Justice Campaign.
The group's mission includes a goal to "cut Connecticut's jail and prison population by 50 percent, and to end racial disparities in our state's justice system."
Claudine Fox, Smart Justice Campaign's campaign manager, conceded the ACLU has a point of view on the questions asked, and was looking for support from the four job candidates.
Fox said she was pleased all four finalists supported Public Act 19-59, which deals with prosecutor transparency.
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