Robert N. Chatigny

Robert N. Chatigny
Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut
Incumbent
Assumed office December 31, 2016

He gained national attention in 2005 when he delayed the execution of Michael Bruce Ross in order to determine if he was competent to waive challenges to his death sentence and potentially prevent a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Ross was subsequently found competent to waive his rights and was executed. The prosecution filed a complaint against Judge Chatigny that was dismissed by the Second Circuit Judicial Council in a 24-page decision on July 26, 2006.

In its 2006 dismissal of charges in the Ross case, the Second Circuit Judicial Council found that Judge Chatigny's actions "were not motivated by any bias in favor of Ross [the prisoner] or against the death penalty, but only by the judge's reasonable perception that the discharge of his own judicial duty...required that he take forceful steps on Ross's behalf.... While the judge used strong language, there was no misconduct....[I]n the judge's reasonable view, the circumstances thrust on him called for unusual action in discharge of judicial duty to ensure the fair resolution of the important proceeding before him." ^[8]

Chatigny has yet to rule on the appeal of former Yale professor James Van de Velde, who had sued the city of New Haven in 2001, ^[9] then Yale in 2003, for allowing his name to be leaked at the inception of the investigation into the death of Yale student Suzanne Jovin in December, 1998. ^[10] Chatigny dismissed the federal fourth amendment claims in March 2004, but left alone the state claims relating to the ruination of Van de Velde's career. ^[11] By not allowing the case to proceed, Van de Velde claims his efforts to "shed light on the cold case and pressure the authorities try to solve the case" have been stonewalled. ^[12]

Of the 440-some opinions Judge Chatigny has issued as a federal court judge since 1994, 16 have been reversed. An analysis by the Sentencing Commission for Fiscal Years 2005-9, provided by Judge Chatigny, place his departure rate "in line with the average for the District of Connecticut as a whole." ^[13]

See also

• Barack Obama judicial appointment controversies
• List of Jewish American jurists

References

1. Confirmation hearings on federal appointments: hearings before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, first session on confirmations of appointees to the federal judiciary.
2. "President Obama Nominates Goodwin Liu for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Judge Robert N. Chatigny for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit". whitehouse.gov . 24 February 2010. Retrieved 1 July 2015– via National Archives.
3. Mayko, Michael. "Three state Republican lawyers support Democratic judge." The Connecticut Post. 2010-04-22.
4. "Leahy, Patrick. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Statement. 2010-04-28".
5. "United States Senator Orrin Hatch". senate.gov. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
6. http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/O%27Hare%20letter.pdf ^{[ bare URL PDF ]}
7. "Editorial: Sexual sadism, unleaded". The Washington Times . 2010-05-26. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
8. "Quoted by Leahy, Patrick. U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Statement. 2010-04-28".
9. http://siliconinvestor.advfn.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=16763835 ^{[ dead link ]}
10. "SI - readmsg.aspx msgid=16764579". Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
11. "SI - readmsg.aspx msgid=19965859". Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
12. "Van de Velde pushes lawsuit: Judge regrets delay in ex-Yale teacher's battle over 'branding' in Jovin slaying". nhregister.com. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
13. "Chatigny, Public Questionnaire" (PDF).

External links

• Robert N. Chatigny at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges , a publication of the Federal Judicial Center .
• Robert Chatigny at Ballotpedia
• Alliance for Justice

News Accounts

• Lucas, Fred. "Judge delays execution." THE NEWS-TIMES. ctpost.com. 2005-01-25.
• "Ross execution still on hold." ctpost.com. 2005-01-26.
• Dodd, Lieberman. "Statement on Nomination of Judge Chatigny to Second Circuit Court of Appeals." 2010-02-24.
• Malan, Douglas S. "All You Want in a Judge." Connecticut Law Tribune. 2010-03-01.
• Malan, Douglas S. "Prosecutor Questions Chatigny’s Fitness For 2nd Circuit: Letter to senators may have helped delay nomination hearings." Connecticut Law Tribune. 2010-03-08.
• Malan, Douglas S. "2nd Circuit Nominee Gets High-Profile Support." Connecticut Law Tribune. 2010-04-26.
• Fuchs, Erin. "Sens. Grill 2nd Circ. Nominee On Death Penalty." Law360. 2010-04-28.
• Ingram, David. "GOP Hammers 2nd Circuit Nominee on Death Penalty Case." The National Law Journal. 2010-04-29.
• Margolis, Emmanuel. "Accusations Against Judge Were Previously Dismissed." Connecticut Law Tribune, ALM Properties. 2010-05-03.
• Mahony, Edmund H. "Chatigny Clears Senate Committee." The Hartford Courant. 2010-06-10.

Legal offices
Preceded by Warren William Eginton	Judge of United States District Court for the District of Connecticut 1994–2016	Succeeded by Kari A. Dooley
Preceded by Alfred V. Covello	Chief Judge of United States District Court for the District of Connecticut 2003–2009	Succeeded by Alvin W. Thompson