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    Thursday, May 09, 2024

    McShane Appointed State's Attorney for Middlesex County

    Longtime New London prosecutor Peter A. McShane, who has tried high-profile criminal cases and served as supervisory assistant state’s attorney for the busy Broad Street courthouse in New London, has been promoted to state's attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex. The state’s attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for the Middlesex Judicial District, which includes Chester, Deep River, Essex, Clinton, Old Saybrook, Westbrook, the city of Middletown and eight other towns.

    McShane, 49, of Madison, will succeed Timothy J. Liston, who retired Oct. 1 after 34 years of service as state’s attorney for the Middlesex Judicial District. State Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer, chair of the Criminal Justice Commission, announced McShane’s appointment Nov. 2 after the commission interviewed candidates at the Division of Criminal Justice headquarters in Rocky Hill. McShane was sworn in just two days later. The state's attorney is responsible for the supervision of the prosecutors' offices at the Part A Judicial District and Geographical Area No. 9 courts in Middletown and the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters in Middletown.

    "We have every confidence that he will serve in the same great tradition as Mr. Liston," Palmer said. "We also wish to extend our congratulations to Mr. Liston on his retirement and our sincere gratitude for his many years of dedicated service." McShane was appointed for a term expiring June 30, 2018, which is the remainder of the eight-year term to which Liston was appointed in 2010.

    The Day newspaper, in writing about McShane’s promotion, described him as “The practical joker, who wore colorful striped socks beneath his dress pants and showed them off upon request, also is an accomplished prosecutor who handled major cases for years and more recently ran the busy G.A. No. 10 courthouse…He organized a book drive for prisoners, worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to initiate a program for young people accused of distracted driving, and coached high school and college students for mock trial events.”

    McShane joined the Division of Criminal Justice in September 1988 as a deputy assistant state's attorney at G.A. No. 10, New London, where he has served as supervisory assistant state's attorney since February 2007. He has tried approximately 45 cases and has briefed and argued 26 cases before the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme courts.  He earned his B.A. degree from St. Michael's College in 1984 and his J.D. from the Boston University School of Law in 1987.

    He received the 2011 Oliver Ellsworth Prosecutor of the Year Award from the Connecticut Criminal Justice Educational and Charitable Association at the same ceremony in which Liston received the association’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

    - Press release

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