Advisory Opinion No. 1994-17
ADVISORY OPINION NO. 94-17
Application Of Conn. Gen.
Stat. §1-84b(b)
To
The Division of Criminal Justice is an executive department
agency, charged with the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters
in the superior court. See Conn.
Gen. Stat. §51-276. The Criminal Justice
Commission appoints a states attorney for each judicial district, who acts
therein as attorney in behalf of the state, and as many assistant states attorneys
and deputy assistant states attorneys for each judicial district as the
criminal business of the court, in the opinion of the chief states attorney,
may require. See Conn. Gen. Stat.
§51-278(b)(1)(B). The various categories
of states attorneys are state employees within the meaning of Conn. Gen. Stat.
§1-79(m) and will be referred to collectively herein as prosecutors. Conn. Gen. Stat. §1-84b(b) provides as follows: No former executive branch
public
official or state employee shall, for one year after leaving state service,
represent anyone, other than the state, for compensation before the department,
agency, board, commission, council or office in which he served at the time of
his termination of service, concerning any matter in which the state has a
substantial interest. In State Ethics Commission Advisory Opinion No. 86-11, 48 Nevertheless, the Commission, in Advisory Opinion No. 86-11,
noted that certain elements of a criminal proceeding, such as negotiating a
plea or a sentence recommendation, are within the jurisdiction of the Division
of Criminal Justice, not the court. The
Commission held that with respect to action by the Division of Criminal
Justice, the representation of a criminal defendant could not be conducted in
a manner obvious to the Division. As a
practical matter, therefore, a former prosecutor who wishes to represent a
criminal defendant in any state court, within one year after leaving state
service, will be precluded from negotiating with the prosecutor or otherwise
interacting with the Division of Criminal Justice. Representation of a client under such
circumstances, although permitted under the Code of Ethics for Public
Officials, will be problematic at best. See,
for example, the Rules of Professional Conduct, particularly Rule 1.11,
Successive Government and Private Employment and Rule 1.9, Conflict of
Interest: Former Client. By order of the Commission, R.E. VanNorstrand
Chairperson