Conn. States Attorneys Defend Independence In Face Of Proposed Legislative Change

The Chief States Attorney and all thirteen of the states attorneys in Connecticut have signed on to a letter praising the independence of their offices. The letter was released late Friday. It’s a response to a proposal in the General Assembly that would set a range of new rules for the state prosecutors to follow. The bill would also move the states attorneys from the Division of Criminal Justice, to the executive branch of state government. That might give a governor more influence over the office. In their letter, the states attorneys say the Trump administration tried to arrange criminal investigations of its rivals, and use its sway over the justice department to protect its allies from federal investigations. The state prosecutors say those events show what can go wrong when politicians have too much authority over criminal investigations. But the bill is favored by the ACLU. The group sees the proposal as a way of making state prosecutors more accountable and transparent.