Former GOP lawyer wants new attorney

HARTFORD — A Hartford Superior Court judge was surprised Friday when Michael Cronin, the former top lawyer for Republicans in the Connecticut Senate, abruptly asked to withdraw his legal counsel and apply for a public defender.

Judge Laura F. Baldini, interrupting a string of plea-bargaining cases with handcuffed prison inmates, told Michael Chase, of the Shipman and Goodwin law firm that it was highly unusual for a defendant with private counsel to ask for a court-appointed lawyer. Cronin, 56, of West Hartford is accused to taking as much as $240,000 from a GOP political action committee dating back to 2012.

“What is that good and sufficient cause?” Baldini asked Chase, who had taken over the case from Ross Garber, who was John Rowland’s attorney during 2004, when he resigned in disgrace from the governor’s office. “It’s not like hiring another attorney. The single question in this court is if Mr. Cronin has communicated with your firm that he no longer wants you representing him.”

“The short answer, your honor is yes,” Chase replied.

Minutes earlier, outside the third-floor courtroom, Cronin went through a questionnaire about his assets with an official from the Public Defender’s office. Defendants need to prove they are indigent to become eligible for public representation.

Baldini agreed to a delay in the case until July 15, so the public defenders can research his assets.

On Thursday, Cronin failed to attend a civil case in a nearby courthouse that had been scheduled for him to explain why he had not issued a detailed list of his assets.