Colm F. Connolly | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware | |
Assumed office July 1, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Leonard P. Stark |
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware | |
Assumed office August 3,2018 | |
Appointed by | Donald Trump |
Preceded by | Sue Lewis Robinson |
United States Attorney for the District of Delaware | |
In office September 2001 –January 20,2009 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Carl Schnee |
Succeeded by | Charles Oberly |
Personal details | |
Born | Wilmington,Delaware,U.S. | October 18,1964
Education | University of Notre Dame (BA) London School of Economics (MSc) Duke University (JD) |
Colm Felix Connolly (born October 18,1964) is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. He formerly served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.
Connolly was born on October 18,1964,in Wilmington,Delaware. He attended Archmere Academy in Claymont,Delaware, [1] and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. The following year,he earned a Master of Science degree from the London School of Economics. After spending a year as a special assistant to the Delaware Secretary of Finance,Connolly attended Duke University School of Law,where he was an editor of Law and Contemporary Problems and served on the moot court board. He graduated in 1991 with a Juris Doctor with honors. [2]
After graduating from law school,Connolly clerked for Judge Walter King Stapleton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit,and then spent seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Delaware. In 1994 and 1995,Connolly prosecuted the first federal criminal civil rights case in Delaware history. One of the defendants,Mark Hobbs,ultimately pled guilty to a civil rights conspiracy charge. The other defendant,Robert Hanulik,pled guilty to civil rights and firearms charges and was sentenced as an armed career criminal to 15 years imprisonment. [3]
Connolly later became known for leading the 18-month investigation into the 1996 disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey,the secretary to Delaware's governor,Tom Carper. [4] Connolly worked alongside Wilmington Police Officer Robert Donovan and FBI Special Agent Eric Alpert. The investigation resulted in a first-degree murder charge against Thomas Capano. Connolly and Ferris Wharton prosecuted the case against Capano. The three-month trial began in November 1998,and despite the fact that the prosecution presented no evidence of a body or weapon and no witness to the killing,the jury returned a guilty verdict and recommended the death penalty. [4] Connolly's cross-examination of Capano at trial culminated in a frustrated Capano standing up and shouting at Connolly,"You heartless,gutless,soulless disgrace of a human being!" and then being ejected from the courtroom by Judge William Swain Lee. [5]
The Capano case spawned four books [6] [7] [8] [9] and the made-for-television movie,And Never Let Her Go (2001),directed by Peter Levin. Connolly was portrayed by Steven Eckholdt and made a cameo appearance in the movie. Mark Harmon portrayed Capano.
Connolly left the U.S. Attorney's Office to become a partner at Morris,Nichols,Arsht &Tunnell in 1999. He then became the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware in 2001 after being nominated by President George W. Bush. In 2009,Connolly left the United States Department of Justice to become a partner at Morgan,Lewis &Bockius,where he worked until becoming a judge. At the U.S. Attorney's office,Connolly was succeeded by Charles M. Oberly III,with David C. Weiss serving as acting United States Attorney in the interim. [2]
Connolly is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a member of the American Law Institute.
On February 26,2008,Connolly was nominated by George W. Bush to fill the United States District Court for the District of Delaware seat vacated by Kent A. Jordan in 2006,who was elevated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Although Connolly received a unanimous well qualified rating from the American Bar Association,the Senate Judiciary Committee did not afford him a hearing and therefore his nomination to the federal bench expired at the conclusion of the Senate's session in 2008. Senator Tom Carper returned his blue slip in support of Connolly,but then-Senator Joe Biden did not. [10]
In 2017,Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper recommended that the White House nominate Connolly to the seat vacated by Sue Lewis Robinson,who assumed senior status on February 3,2017. On December 20,2017,Connolly's renomination was announced and sent to the Senate. [2] [11] On February 14,2018,a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. [12] On March 15,2018,his nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–1 vote. [13] On August 1,2018,his nomination was confirmed by voice vote. [14] He received his judicial commission on August 3,2018. [15] He became chief judge on July 1,2021. [16]
William Swain Lee is an American lawyer and Republican politician from Georgetown,in Sussex County,Delaware. He is a member of the Republican Party,who served as a judge of the Delaware Superior Court. He was the 2004 and 2008 Republican nominee for Governor of Delaware.
Joseph Frank Bianco is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was formerly a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Gustavo Antonio GelpíJr. is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. He is a former chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Edward Francis Harrington is an American lawyer who serves as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Andrea Robin Wood is an American attorney serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Armando Omar Bonilla is an American attorney who is a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims. Prior to this,Bonilla served as an associate deputy attorney general in the United States Department of Justice.
Todd Eric Edelman is an American lawyer who has served as an associate judge for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia since 2010. He is a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.
Michael Brian Brennan is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. He was first nominated on August 3,2017,by President Donald Trump,and was re-nominated in 2018. He was confirmed May 10,2018. He was previously a partner in the Milwaukee law firm Gass Weber Mullins LLC,and served 8 years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge.
Ryan Douglas Nelson is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was previously nominated to become Solicitor of the United States Department of the Interior,but was never confirmed.
Chad Francis Kenney Sr. is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He was previously a Judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
Maryellen Noreika is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2018 as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
John Campbell "Cam" Barker is an American federal judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Peter Joseph Phipps is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Thomas Shawn Kleeh is the chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Corey Landon Maze is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Maurice Miller Baker is a United States judge of the United States Court of International Trade.
Clifton Leland Corker is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Steven Daniel Grimberg is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
Linda Lopez is an American attorney serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. She previously served as a magistrate judge of the same court.
Robert Steven Huie is an American lawyer from California who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.