Office of the State's Attorney Judicial District of New Britain
Welcome to the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain.
The New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office is on the first floor of the New Britain Superior Court, which is located at 20 Franklin Square, New Britain, CT 06051.
The New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal and motor vehicle offenses which occur in the communities of Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Southington, Wethersfield and Central Connecticut State University. The New Britain Judicial District has approximately 315,000 people living within it.
Every on-site arrest or arrest warrant that is issued by the respective law enforcement agency in the above stated communities is brought to the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office at the New Britain Superior Court. Once these matters are brought to the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office, a careful decision is made to determine whether the matter should be prosecuted.
The New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office is comprised of the Judicial District of New Britain (Part A), Geographical Area No. 15 (Part B), Juvenile, and Housing.
The Part A (New Britain Judicial District) portion of the office is responsible for the prosecution of felony offenses that range from murder, arson, robbery, sexual assault, child pornography, a variety of others, and any case that involves the death of another. There are currently six prosecutors, three inspectors, two clericals, and one paralegal assigned to Part A. The cases in Part A are vertically assigned to a prosecutor and inspector, meaning the prosecutor and inspector are assigned the case work together and oversee it throughout the entire criminal process. Our two clerical staff members and paralegal are vital members of Part A and are responsible for obtaining all of the discovery in every Part A criminal case and maintain all of our criminal files.
The prosecutors that are assigned to Part A are: State’s Attorney Watson, Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Helen McLellan, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney David Clifton, Assistant State’s Attorney Adrienne Russo, and Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Greene. The three inspectors, who are sworn law enforcement officers with arrest powers, are: Supervisory Inspector Jerry Chrostowski, Inspector Edward Apicella, Inspector Felix Perez, and Inspector David Rohon.
The Part B (Geographical Area No. 15) portion of the office is responsible for the prosecution of every felony, misdemeanor, and motor vehicle offense that is not transferred to Part A. The crimes that are prosecuted in Part B range from assault, burglary, larceny, identity theft, operating under the influence, and a variety of other felonies and misdemeanors. There are currently six prosecutors, three investigators, and four clericals assigned to Part B. The cases in Part B are not vertically assigned to an individual prosecutor as the vast number of cases on a daily basis do not support that method of prosecution.
The prosecutors that are assigned to Part B are: Supervisory State’s Attorney Mary Rose Palmese, Assistant State’s Attorney Devant Joiner, Assistant State’s Attorney Alison Kubas, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Fallon, and Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney Abby Marchinkoski. The investigators are: William J. Durkin, Matthew Kelly, Anthony Legnani and Gary Blake (Juvenile Matters).
If you wish to know if the adult criminal case that you are a defendant in, or a victim of, is being prosecuted in Part A or Part B, access the Connecticut Judicial website at https://www.jud2.ct.gov/crdockets/parm1.aspx type in the defendant's name and under “court location” select either New Britain Judicial District or New Britain Geographical Area 15, or (2) if you have the docket number that is assigned to the case it will indicate whether it is in Part A or Part B. Part A cases will have a docket number that begin with HHB and Part B cases will have a docket number that begins with H15N.
The Juvenile portion of the office is located on the third floor of the New Britain Superior Court. The Juvenile office covers these towns or cities: Avon, Berlin, Bristol, Canton, Canton Center, Collinsville, East Berlin, East Granby, East Hartland, Farmington, Granby, Hartland, Marion, Milldale, New Britain, Newington, North Canton, North Granby, Plainville, Plantsville, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Southington, Tariffville, Unionville, Weatogue, West Granby, West Hartland, West Simsbury, and Wethersfield.
Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Marc W. Vallen is the head of the Juvenile office and obtains assistance from Investigator Gary Blake.
State’s Attorney Christian M. Watson
State’s Attorney Christian M. Watson was appointed by the Criminal Justice Commission as the New Britain State’s Attorney on June 20, 2022. As the New Britain State’s Attorney he currently serves on the Operations and Ethics Commissions for the Division of Criminal Justice. His appointment is for a period of eight years.
State’s Attorney Watson is the chief law enforcement officer in the Judicial District of New Britain. The New Britain Judicial District is comprised of several communities: Berlin, Bristol, Burlington, New Britain, Newington, Plainville, Plymouth, Rocky Hill, Southington, Wethersfield, and Central Connecticut State University. State’s Attorney Watson is responsible for the supervision and delegation of duties of the Part A (New Britain Judicial District), the Part B (Geographical Area No. 15), Housing Session, and Juvenile.
State’s Attorney Watson was born and raised in New Britain and matriculated through the New Britain public school system until his graduation from New Britain High School in 1994. After high school, he attended the University of Rhode Island and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1998. He continued his education at the University of Connecticut School of Law and earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2001. After graduating from law school he passed both the New York and Connecticut bar exams.
State’s Attorney Watson began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office in 2001 and held that position for two years. In 2003, State’s Attorney Watson returned to Connecticut and was appointed a Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney at Geographical Area No. 23, New Haven, within the New Haven Judicial District. State’s Attorney Watson then transferred to Geographical Area No. 17, Bristol, where he remained for four years. The time spent in the Bristol courthouse presented him with the unique opportunity to try several misdemeanor and felony cases to both the Court and to juries.
State’s Attorney Watson then went to work in private practice with a local law firm in New Britain for two years. He returned to public service in 2010 when he was hired as an Assistant State’s Attorney for Geographical Area No. 15 within the New Britain Judicial District. After a few years as a Part B prosecutor, he was assigned to Part A in New Britain and continued to hone his trial skills. In 2016 he was promoted to Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney for Part A in the New Britain Judicial District. He served in that capacity until his appointment as the State’s Attorney.
Contact Information:
New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office
20 Franklin Square
New Britain, CT 06051
Phone: 860-515-5270, Fax: 860-515-5266
Email: christian.watson@ct.gov
Mission of the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of New Britain
As prosecutors, we are all employed by the Division of Criminal Justice and not the division of prosecution. We are firm believers that as ministers of justice, we are duty bound to seek the truth and to ensure that the rights of everyone are equally protected.
As prosecutors, we are obligated to consider and weigh many competing interests in the decisions we make daily. Those decisions have an enormous impact on the lives of the people and the communities we serve; they impact liberty, rights, livelihoods, and families. Our main objective as prosecutors is to ensure that justice is done no matter the consequences. We are all as equally proud of the cases we have chosen not to prosecute as the ones that we have.
We have all been presented with this unique opportunity to serve the citizens of the communities that are within the New Britain Judicial District. As such, we will strive to do everything within our control to ensure that the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office continues to serve as a benchmark for fellow prosecutors and an institution that strives to guarantee that no person's rights are compromised.