The legislature’s judiciary committee held a confirmation hearing Wednesday for those hoping to keep their seats on the Superior Court bench.
One nominee was Superior Court Judge James Bentivegna, of Avon, who sentenced Joshua Komisarjevsky in 2002 for burglaries that occurred in 2001 and 2002. At that time, Bentivegna described Komisarjevsky as a “calculated, cold-blooded predator.”
Bentivegna received attention after Komisarjevsky was arrested on several charges, including capital felony, for his alleged involvement in the 2007 Cheshire home invasion.
When Bentivegna sat before members of the judiciary committee Wednesday, he said that he does not usually make statements like the pointed ones made during Komisarjevsky’s sentencing.
His statement prompted committee Co-chairman Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, to ask if it would have been helpful for the state parole board to see the transcript of the sentencing before allowing Komisarjevsky parole.
Bentivegna responded that he had assumed the pre-sentence investigation would get to the parole board.
“The fact that some of it didn’t is an unfortunate tragedy,” he said.
The Cheshire home invasion, which resulted in the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, Hayley and Michaela, prompted state lawmakers to reform the criminal justice system. The parole system was scrutinized and changes were made to the way parolees are handled.
Judiciary committee members should not have asked Bentivegna about Komisarjevsky’s prior case given that Komisarjevsky currently has a case pending, said Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London.
“Ethically, it doesn’t look right,” Hewett said.
Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the committee, said lawmakers sometimes do ask judges about cases once they have been resolved. Asking Bentivegna about Komisarjevsky was not inappropriate, he said.
Bentivegna was first nominated to be a Superior Court judge by former Gov. John Rowland in 2002. He is a Republican and served as a family support magistrate before his appointment to the Superior Court bench. He served as legal counsel to Rowland for 1998 to 2000. Prior to that, he served as legal counsel in the state Senate, and he was a public defender in Wisconsin.
The judiciary committee voted in support of Bentivegna’s nomination Wednesday. The full House and Senate still needs to vote on the nomination before his reappointment becomes official.
Superior Court judges serve eight-year terms.