Peter McShane Appointed State's Attorney for Middlesex Judicial District
The Honorable Richard N. Palmer, Chair of the Criminal Justice Commission, announced today that the Commission has appointed Peter A. McShane as State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex.
Attorney McShane will succeed Timothy J. Liston, who retired October 1, 2011, after 34 years of service to the State of Connecticut, the last ten as the State’s Attorney in Middletown.
“The Criminal Justice Commission is proud to announce the appointment of Peter McShane, and we have every confidence that he will serve in the same great tradition as Mr. Liston. We also wish to extend our congratulations to Mr. Liston on his retirement and our sincere gratitude for his many years of dedicated service.”
Mr. McShane was appointed for a term expiring June 30, 2018, which is the remainder of the eight-year term to which Mr. Liston was appointed in 2010. The State’s Attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for the Middlesex Judicial District, which includes the city of Middletown and the 14 other communities in Middlesex County.
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.
Attorney 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.
Mr. Liston began his career as a prosecutor in August 1977 and was appointed State’s Attorney in July 2001 to complete the term of his predecessor, who retired. He was appointed to an eight-year term in 2002 and again in 2010.
The Criminal Justice Commission was established by Article XXIII of the Connecticut Constitution and is responsible for the appointment of all state prosecutors in Connecticut. It is chaired by Justice Palmer, an Associate Justice of the state Supreme Court. In addition to Justice Palmer, its membership includes the Honorable Juliett L. Crawford, Judge of the Superior Court, attorneys Mary M. Galvin, Maura Hughes Horan, Moy N. Ogilvie and Ann G. Taylor and Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane.