Office of the State's Attorney
Judicial District of New Britain

The New Britain State's Attorney's office is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal offenses which occur in the Judicial District, which includes the communities of Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, Newington, New Britain, Plainville, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Southington and Wethersfield. 

The Office of State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain, or the "Part A" office located at the New Britain Superior Court, prosecutes the more serious cases, mostly those crimes classified under state law as class A or class B felony offenses, from all communities in the Judicial District.

The Geographical Area office, located at the "Part B" Superior Court in New Britain, primarily prosecutes cases involving crimes classified under state law as class C, class D or class E felony offenses as well as all misdemeanor offenses and infractions, including motor vehicle offenses.

State's Attorney Brian W. Preleski

Brian Preleski currently serves as the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain. He was born in New Britain and raised in Bristol where he attended public schools and his father worked as a Bristol police officer.

He earned his BA from the University of Connecticut in 1987. As an undergraduate, he was an Honors Scholar, graduating Magna Cum Laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He subsequently graduated with High Honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1991.

Brian became a member of the Connecticut Bar in 1991 and began practicing as a litigation associate with a large law firm in Hartford. He was initially appointed a Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney by the Criminal Justice Commission in 1993 for G.A. No. 17 (Bristol). When the New Britain Judicial District was created in 1998, Brian transferred to New Britain and began prosecuting major felony cases. In 2011, he was appointed State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain and reappointed in 2014 to an eight year term.

As the New Britain State’s Attorney, he is the chief law enforcement officer for the Judicial District of New Britain, which includes the cities of New Britain, Bristol and eight surrounding communities. The State’s Attorney is responsible for the supervision of the prosecutors’ offices at the Part A Judicial District Superior Court in New Britain, G.A. No. 15 (New Britain), and the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters and Housing Sessions at New Britain.

As a prosecutor for more than twenty-five years, he has been involved in several notable cases. He successfully prosecuted Connecticut’s first cold case murder, tried the case establishing the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints under Connecticut law and has tried more than sixty major felony cases to verdict. He recently led the law enforcement task force in the cold case of murders of seven individuals which resulted in the conviction of William Howell, Connecticut’s most prolific serial killer.

In 2013, Brian was selected by the National District Attorneys Association to serve as an official observer to the war crimes trial of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 2014, he was awarded the Distinguished Honors Alumnus Award by the University of Connecticut. In addition to his duties as State’s Attorney, Brian currently serves as the Connecticut Director of the National District Attorneys Association, serves on several nonprofit Boards and volunteers teaching English as a second language at the Siena Learning Center in New Britain.