Devant J. Joiner has withdrawn as one of Gov. Ned Lamont’s nominees as a judge of the Superior Court, acknowledging the unlikelihood of overcoming an unfavorable report by the legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
The committee voted 27-10 Monday to recommend against confirmation by the full General Assembly of Joiner, 54, a senior assistant state’s attorney whose alleged aggressiveness towards defendants became an issue.
No one testified against his nomination at a confirmation hearing, but Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, challenged him about a case in which he was accused of “prosecutorial vindictiveness.”
Joiner had lodged additional charges against a defendant who opted for trial, while a co-defendant willing to accept a deal was allowed to plead to an infraction and pay a fine.
After the defense lawyer filed a motion for dismissal based on prosecutorial vindictiveness, the state’s attorney’s office declined to pursue prosecution.