Connecticut Appellate Court

Last updated

The Connecticut Appellate Court is the court of first appeals for all cases arising from the Connecticut Superior Courts. Its creation in 1983 required Connecticut's voters and legislature to amend the state's constitution. The court heard its first cases on October 4, 1983. [1] The Appellate Court was also a partial successor to the former Appellate Session of the Superior Court, a court established to hear appeals in minor matters (e.g., misdemeanors and minor civil matters.) [2] [3]

Contents

Composition

The Connecticut Appellate Court is composed of nine Appellate Court Judges. However, retired Judges of the Appellate Court and of the Supreme Court can still sit on Appellate Court panels, as needed. Retired Chief Justices Ellen Ash Peters, Francis McDonald, and William Sullivan continue to sit regularly with the Appellate Court, as do retired Justices David Borden and Barry Schaller, retired Appellate Court Chief Judges Antoinette Dupont and William Lavery, and a battery of other retired Appellate Court Judges (including Socrates Mihalakos, Joseph Pellegrino, George Stoughton, and Thomas West, among others). If the Chief Court Administrator is a Judge of the Appellate Court, the Appellate Court is authorized to have 10 seats. (Judge Joseph Pellegrino fulfilled this role and during his time, the Court had 10 members.) [4] Some Judges of the former Appellate Session of the Superior Court went on to serve on the Appellate Court, notably, John Daly and Francis X. Hennessy.

Current members

JusticeBornJoinedTerm endsMandatory retirementAppointed byLaw school
William H. Bright Jr, Chief JudgeAugust 15, 1962 (age 60)November 1, 2017 (as Appellate Judge)

August 1, 2020 (as Chief Judge)

20252032 Dannel Malloy (D) Chicago
Bethany Alvord June 20, 1957 (age 66)April 22, 200920272027 Jodi Rell (R) Connecticut
Eliot D. Prescott January 21, 1965 (age 58)April 25, 201420302035 Dannel Malloy (D) Connecticut
Nina F. Elgo June 18, 1962 (age 61)May 25, 201720252032 Dannel Malloy (D) Georgetown
Ingrid L. Moll April 17, 1973 (age 50)May 3, 201820262043 Dannel Malloy (D) Connecticut
Melanie L. Cradle 1970or1971(age 52–53)August 12, 202020282041 Ned Lamont (D) Seton Hall
José A. Suarez 1966 (age 5657)August 12, 202020282036 Ned Lamont (D) Connecticut
Robert W. ClarkSeptember 16, 1971 (age 51)March 23, 202120292041 Ned Lamont (D) Connecticut
Hope C. SeeleyFebruary 25, 1964 (age 59)May 2, 202220302034 Ned Lamont (D) Connecticut
Alexandra Davis DiPentima,Senior JudgeApril 18, 1953 (age 70)May 13, 2003N/AN/A John G. Rowland (R) Connecticut

Former members

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Connecticut School of Law</span> Law school of the University of Connecticut

The University of Connecticut School of Law is the law school associated with the University of Connecticut and located in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the only public law school in Connecticut and one of only four in New England. In 2020 it enrolled 488 JD students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Supreme Court</span> Highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut

The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, across the street from the Connecticut State Capitol. The court generally holds eight sessions of two to three weeks per year, with one session each September through November and January through May. Justices are appointed by the governor and then approved by the Connecticut General Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joette Katz</span> American judge

Joette Katz is an American attorney who is a partner at the law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LLP. She was an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, where she also served as the administrative judge for the state appellate system, and as Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. In various roles during her career she has had an impact on issues of state and national importance, such as: criminal law, capital punishment, civil rights and the right to education, eminent domain, same-sex marriage, LGBTQ rights, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and helping children in state care move from institutions to families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew J. McDonald</span> American judge

Andrew J. McDonald is an American judge and former politician from Connecticut. He serves as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Chase T. Rogers was the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, the second woman to serve in this capacity. She announced on November 2, 2017, that she would retire in February 2018. She is a graduate of Stanford University and Boston University School of Law. Rogers is a Connecticut native. She was nominated by Governor M. Jodi Rell and sworn in April 25, 2007, by the first female Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Ellen Ash Peters. Prior to her nomination, Rogers served in the appellate court of Connecticut from April 2006 to April 2007. Prior to serving on the appellate court, she served as a superior court judge beginning in 1998. Her assignments included serving as the presiding judge for juvenile matters in Bridgeport and being assigned to the regional Child Protection Session in Middletown. Between 2001 and 2005, she was assigned to the Complex Litigation Docket in Stamford, and from 2005 to 2006 she served as the presiding judge for civil matters in the Stamford-Norwalk district. Before becoming a judge, she practiced law for 14 years at Cummings & Lockwood in Stamford, Connecticut. She has two children, a son and a daughter. She was married to Edward Vincent O'Hanlan, a lawyer, on December 21, 1985.

Christine S. Vertefeuille is a Senior Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

William J. Sullivan was an American Judge Trial Referee of the Connecticut Superior Court. He served as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Connecticut Appellate Court by Gov. John G. Rowland in 1997 and remained there until his elevation to the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1999. Justice Sullivan was nominated to be Chief Justice by Gov. Rowland in 2000 and was appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2001. Justice Sullivan took senior status on April 15, 2006 and continued to serve as a Senior Justice until 2009, when he attained the age of 70.

David M. Borden was a Connecticut Supreme Court Justice from 1990 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courts of Connecticut</span> Courts in Connecticut

Courts of Connecticut include:

Alfred Vincent Covello is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

G. Sarsfield Ford was an American jurist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lubbie Harper Jr.</span> American judge (born 1942)

Lubbie Harper Jr. is an American lawyer and judge who was the third African American to become a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, serving from 2011 through 2012. While seconded to the court in 2008, he cast the deciding vote in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, a ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut. Harper also served as a justice on the Connecticut Superior Court (1997–2005) and on the Connecticut Appellate Court (2005–2011).

Raheem L. Mullins is an American lawyer and judge who has served as an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Araújo Kahn</span> American federal judge (born 1964)

Maria Araújo Kahn is an American lawyer who is serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She previously served as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court from 2017 to 2023.

Michael R. Sheldon was a Judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court. He stepped down on April 1, 2019, shortly before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

Christine Elyse Keller is an American lawyer and judge from Connecticut. She is a Senior Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven D. Ecker</span> American judge

Steven D. Ecker is an American lawyer and judge who has served as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court since 2018.

Robert J. Devlin Jr. is a former Judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court and former Judge of the Connecticut Superior Court. He was nominated to the Appellate court by Governor Ned Lamont and began his term on May 15, 2019. Devlin retired in April 2020, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

Joan Kulowski Alexander is an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. She served as a judge the Connecticut Appellate Court from 2020 to 2022.

References

  1. History of the Connecticut Appellate Court, compiled by the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "CT Appellate Court History". www.jud.ct.gov.
  3. "NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service". www.ncjrs.gov.
  4. "CT Appellate Court Judges - CT Judicial Branch". www.jud.state.ct.us.
  5. "Honorable F. Herbert Gruendel - Biography". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
  6. "Honorable Robert E. Beach, Jr. - Biography". www.jud.state.ct.us.
  7. "Judge Bieluch Obituary, West Hartford, CTCarmon Community Funeral Homes". www.carmonfuneralhome.com.
  8. "Honorable Thomas A. Bishop - Biography". www.jud.state.ct.us.
  9. "CRETELLA, Judge Albert W., Jr".
  10. "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart.
  11. "Judge Antoinette L. Dupont Marries Judge A. W. Cretella Jr. in New London". The New York Times. 25 August 1990.
  12. "Daly, Hon. John J."
  13. "Remarks by The Honorable Antoinette L. Dupont at 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Appellate Court - 10/15/03". jud.ct.gov.
  14. "Joseph Dannehy, Legendary Jurist, Dies".
  15. 1 2 3 "CT Appellate Court History". www.jud.state.ct.us.
  16. "Resolution Confirming the Nomination of the Honorable Paul M. Foti of Branford to Be a Judge of the Appellate Court and a Judge of the Superior Court". www.cga.ct.gov.
  17. "Honorable Lubbie Harper, Jr. - CT Judicial Branch". jud.ct.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  18. "Retired Appellate Court Judge Francis X. Hennessy".
  19. "Retired Appellate Court Judge Francis X. Hennessy Dies at 82; Originally Appointed by Ella Grasso; 36-Year Career as Judge | Capitol Watch". Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
  20. "The Honorable Francis Xavier HENNESSY's Obituary on Hartford Courant". Hartford Courant.
  21. Saxon, Wolfgang (8 November 1997). "Judge Maxwell Heiman, 65". The New York Times.
  22. 1 2 "Remarks by The Honorable Antoinette L. Dupont at 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Appellate Court - 10/15/03". www.jud.ct.gov.
  23. "Governor Lamont Makes Supreme and Appellate Court Appointments" (Press release). July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  24. "Honorable C. Ian McLachlan - Biography". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  25. "Justice C. Ian McLachlan biography". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  26. "Appellate Judge Raheem L. Mullins - CT Judicial Branch". Archived from the original on 2014-11-26.
  27. Storace, Robert; PM, 2019 at 03:57 (March 12, 2019). "Michael Sheldon to Step Down From Bench, Become Judge Trial Referee". Connecticut Law Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  28. "Spear Nominated To Appellate Court".
  29. "Daniel Spallone, Connecticut judge - Boston.com". Archived from the original on 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2011-07-30.
  30. "Congressional Record, Volume 153 Issue 137 (Monday, September 17, 2007)". www.gpo.gov.
  31. "CT Appellate Court History". www.jud.state.ct.us.
  32. http://search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch_lpa.asp?cmd=getdoc&DocId=4541&Index=I%3A\zindex\1988&HitCount=0&hits=&hc=0&req=&Item=5655%5B%5D
  33. "George D. STOUGHTON's Obituary on Hartford Courant". Hartford Courant.
  34. "Connecticut Law Tribune: 'Til Death Do Us Part". Archived from the original on 2011-10-06.
  35. "Robert Testo, 78, House Speaker In Era of Change in Connecticut". The New York Times. Associated Press. 23 April 1998.