Chief State’s Attorney’s Meeting
Minutes of the Meeting of October 5, 2022
The meeting was called to order at 12:46 p.m. by Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin.
Also present: Deputy Chief State’s Attorney of Operations Kevin D. Lawlor; Deputy Chief State’s Attorney of Administration, Personnel and Finance John J. Russotto, Deputy Chief State’s Attorney, Inspector General Robert J. Devlin, Jr., State’s Attorneys Margaret E. Kelley (Ansonia/Milford), David R. Applegate (Danbury), Joseph T. Corradino, (Fairfield), David R. Shannon (Litchfield), Christian M. Watson (New Britain), John P. Doyle, Jr. (New Haven), Paul J. Narducci (New London), Paul J. Ferencek (Stamford/Norwalk), Maureen Platt (Waterbury), and Anne F. Mahoney (Windham).
Also Present: Executive Assistant State’s Attorneys Lisa M. D’Angelo, Gail Hardy, and Brett Salafia, Chief Inspectors Frederick P. Haddad, Jr. and Michael P. Sullivan, Acting Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Timothy Sugrue, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Ronald Weller, Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Thad Bochain, Legislative Liaison Anne Cournoyer, Manager of Research and Planning Kyle Baudoin, Financial Director Valerie Clark, Executive Secretary Marisa DePhillips and Labor Relations Administrator AnneMarie Paone-Mullin.
State’s Attorney Corradino moved to accept the minutes of the September 12, 2022 meeting. State’s Attorney Doyle seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto introduced and welcomed the new Finance Director, Valerie Clark. Chief State’s Attorney Griffin introduced and welcomed the new Legislative Liaison, Anne Cournoyer. Discussion followed regarding the Legislative Committee, legislative initiatives and prioritizing legal analysis with the goal of presenting reliable data to the State’s Attorneys to streamline and to isolate issues for discussion.
There was discussion about Public Act 22-115, which became effective 10/1/22, and the Division’s data collection of certain docket information regarding juvenile matters.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto provided an update on future Criminal Justice Commission Meeting dates and plans to fill Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney positions through the end of 2022. He also gave an update on the Case Management System and the forms that are available for all Judicial Districts, including Appendices A (Worksheets) and B (Notes).
There were no significant COVID-19 updates other than that the Division is working to get a new shipment of rapid test kits to be made available to employees.
In regard to the budget, the Division is considering requesting more personnel to fulfill the Division’s need for staffing for early screening intervention programs in all 13 Judicial Districts, completing work in digital data analysis, case management system inputs and updates and review and analysis of body-worn camera collection.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto announced that Human Resources Director, Cathy Riberio, would be leaving the Division in early November. He said the position is posted and that there are interim plans in place for support when she leaves.
There was a presentation of standardized warrants developed by Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Ronald Weller and Assistant State’s Attorney Thad Bochain of the Appellate Bureau that addresses two distinct warrants for data (related to the individual device) and location (requesting information from service providers). Chief State’s Attorney Griffin applauded the substantial step forward in the Division’s efforts to have standardization and consistency in language throughout the 13 Judicial Districts. The State’s Attorneys agreed unanimously to adopt the warrant language. Executive Assistant State’s Attorney D’Angelo said she would forward the documents to State’s Attorney Gailor and State’s Attorney Walcott, who were not present at the meeting, for their input.
Executive Assistant State’s Attorney D’Angelo provided updates about training at the Division, including upcoming virtual and in-person classes, more training for both prosecutors and law enforcement officers, including forensic lab training on DNA in November by the Police Officer Standards and Training Council. She said she would be contacting State’s Attorneys to get references for additional trainers for the Training Committee.
The State’s Attorneys discussed the need for Inspectors to review the Combined DNA Index System notifications that are being sent to the Judicial Districts. State’s Attorney Doyle offered to talk with an Inspector in the New Haven State’s Attorney’s Office about creating a review process that would be used by all the Judicial Districts. Chief State’s Attorney Griffin agreed this is a good approach to have consistency across the board. Also, there was brief discussion about how Superior Court magistrates’ redirection to small claims matters has presented a staffing issue.
In other business, Manager of Research and Planning Baudoin discussed a presentation he created for Chief State’s Attorney Griffin’s recent meeting with the Connecticut Bar Association that expanded data points by showing conviction history, the results of which were added to the recent Office of Policy and Management report.
State’s Attorney Corradino inquired about a program that could transcribe witness/suspect statements. Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto said the Division is still researching vendors.
There was discussion about creating a uniform policy on Discovery in the future. For now, Chief State’s Attorney Griffin said the priority is on the creation of Prosecutorial Standards which will inform the rewrite of the Ethics Policy and then the Discovery Policy.
There was brief discussion regarding increasing the Division’s capacity to store digital information.
There being no further business, State’s Attorney Doyle made a motion to adjourn. Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Lawlor seconded the motion and it passed without opposition. The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.