Alan Harris Nevas (March 27, 1928 – April 19, 2025) was a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Connecticut The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (in case citations, D. Conn.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Connecticut. The court has offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven. Appeal ...

Education and career

Born in Norwalk,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, Nevas received an Artium Baccalaureus degree from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

in 1949. He received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

in 1951. He was in private practice of law in Westport, Connecticut from 1951 to 1952. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a Sergeant First Class from 1952 to 1954. He was in private practice of law in Westport from 1954 to 1981. He was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

from 1971 to 1977 and was a Republican. He was a Justice of the Peace in Westport from 1976 to 1981. He was the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Connecticut from 1981 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

Nevas was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

on September 9, 1985, to the

, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on October 16, 1985, and received commission on October 17, 1985. He assumed senior status on March 27, 1997, and retired on February 2, 2009.

Post judicial service

Following his retirement from the federal bench, Nevas became special counsel to Levett Rockwood P.C., a corporate law firm in Westport. Upon Levett Rockwood's combination with

Verrill Dana Verrill (legal name Verrill Dana, LLP) is a New England regional law firm. The firm has offices in Portland, Maine; Augusta, Maine; Westport, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; New York, New York; Naples, Florida; and W ...

, a leading New England regional law firm, in 2015, he became Senior Counsel to Verrill, where he continued to practice, primarily as an arbitrator and mediator. During his tenure at Levett Rockwood, Nevas was appointed by former Governor

Jodi Rell Mary Carolyn Rell (née Reavis; June 16, 1946 – November 20, 2024), known as M. Jodi Rell, was an American politician who served as the 87th governor of Connecticut from 2004 to 2011. Rell also had served as the state's 105th lieutenant gove ...

to chair the state's investigation into the causes of the deadly February 7, 2010 explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown, Connecticut, and to chair the committee that allocated $7.7 million in funds to families impacted by the December 14, 2012

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting On December 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Newtown Public Schools, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, United States. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people. The victims were 20 children bet ...

in Newtown, Connecticut. Nevas died on April 19, 2025, at the age of 97.

References

Sources

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevas, Alan Harris 1928 births 2025 deaths Judges of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives New York University School of Law alumni People from Norwalk, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut Syracuse University alumni United States attorneys for the District of Connecticut United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly