Robert J. Devlin, Jr. Appointed Deputy Chief State's Attorney, Inspector General
September 27, 2021
The Honorable Andrew J. McDonald, Chair of the Criminal Justice Commission, announced today that the Commission has appointed Robert J. Devlin, Jr. as Deputy Chief State’s Attorney, Inspector General.
The appointment, for a four-year term, was approved by a 5-0 vote of the Commission at its meeting today at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
"The Criminal Justice Commission congratulates Judge Devlin on his appointment as Deputy Chief State’s Attorney, Inspector General,” Justice McDonald said. “We are confident that Judge Devlin’s long and distinguished career in the judicial system will help him take on this very challenging and important job. The Commission was very fortunate to have four extraordinary applicants come before us today. We want to thank those outstanding applicants who stepped forward and sought this important position."
The Deputy Chief State’s Attorney, Inspector General, is responsible for leading the Office of the Inspector General, conducting investigations of peace officers in accordance with C.G.S. §51-277a, as amended by the Act, prosecuting any cases in which the Inspector General determines a peace officer used force found to not be justifiable pursuant to C.G.S. §53a-22 or where a police officer or correctional officer fails to intervene in any such incident or to report any such incident, as required under subsection (a) of C.G.S. §7-282e or C.G.S. §18-81nn, as applicable. The Inspector General also will make recommendations to the Police Officer Standards and Training Council established under C.G.S. §7-294b concerning censure and suspension, renewal, cancelation or revocation of a peace officer’s certification.
Attorney Devlin, a Judge of the Superior Court for the state of Connecticut since his appointment by Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., in 1992, is the chairman of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. From 2010 to 2017, he served as Chief Administrative Judge for the Criminal Division of the Superior Court. He has been a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Strike Force and was recognized by the U.S. Attorney General in 1992 as one of the outstanding federal prosecutors in America for his work as a member of the prosecution team that secured convictions of the hierarchy in New England organized crime groups.
Attorney Devlin earned his B.A. Degree with honors from Southern Connecticut State University and his J.D. with honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
Established under Article XXIII of the Connecticut Constitution, the Criminal Justice Commission is responsible for the appointment of all state prosecutors in Connecticut.
In addition to Justice McDonald, Senior Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, the commission's membership includes Appellate Court Judge Melanie L. Cradle, attorneys Robert M. Berke, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Scott J. Murphy and Moy N. Ogilvie and Chief State’s Attorney Richard J. Colangelo, Jr.
Attorney Betts was absent from today’s meeting due to a prior commitment. By law, Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo, Jr., cannot participate in the consideration of Deputy Chief State's Attorney applicants.