Colm Connolly

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. Biography and career Connolly was born on October 18, 1964, in Wilmington, Delaware. He 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. 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.