Press Releases
06/15/2017
Gov. Malloy Appoints Justice McDonald to Serve as Chairman of the State’s Criminal Justice Commission
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has appointed Supreme Court Justice Andrew J. McDonald to serve as chairman of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Commission, the group constitutionally charged with appointing all state prosecutors within the Division of Criminal Justice. He will fill the role most recently held by Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer, who submitted a letter to the Governor on Tuesday resigning as its chairman. Justice McDonald will serve in the position until the legislature convenes again in February 2018, when a nomination will be put before the General Assembly for its consideration.
Justice Palmer was first appointed to serve as chairman in 2006 by Governor M. Jodi Rell and then was re-appointed in 2011 by Governor Malloy.
“Having led the Criminal Justice Commission for over eleven years, Justice Palmer is certainly one of the commission’s longest serving chairmen and has spent countless hours scrutinizing attorneys from around the state to find the most highly qualified ones to serve as prosecutors and lead in the fight against crime,” Governor Malloy said. “I thank him for his commitment to our state and his many years of service on the commission. I also want to thank Justice McDonald for agreeing to serve as the group’s chairman and trust that he will faithfully lead the commission in focusing on the public safety needs of our state, including the enforcement of crime victims’ rights.”
The Criminal Justice Commission is composed of the Chief State’s Attorney and six members nominated by the Governor and confirmed by the General Assembly, two of whom must be judges. All of the members of the Commission volunteer their service to the state – they are not compensated. Over the years, Connecticut governors have traditionally selected a justice of the Supreme Court to serve as the group’s chairperson.
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