Connecticut Hires First Prosecutor Under New Apprenticeship Program

Next month, Connecticut will swear in its first law student to become a prosecutor as part of an apprenticeship program, Lisa Backus reports for CT Insider.  The program was developed by the state following recent legislation aimed at making the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney more competitive with the private sector. The law allows the agency to interview and recommend candidates to the Criminal Justice Commission who are within five months of graduating and are certified as legal interns. Apprentices chosen by the commission are hired within one year of passing the bar exam. Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin told CT Insider that the agency lobbied to get the law passed in order to attract top law students and address significant prosecutorial shortages in the state.