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.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllT14 Sees Black, Hispanic Law Student Representation Decline Following End of Affirmative Action
Wrongful-Death Case Against Adult Day Care Sparks Call for State Regulation
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250