The failed confirmation of Justice Andrew J. McDonald as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court became a focal point for Republican candidates battling for governor Wednesday, as they answered whether they would uphold the longstanding custom of reappointing judges to new terms regardless of their judicial philosophy or political affiliation.
Clarice Silber
Clarice Silber was a General Assignment Reporter at CT Mirror. She formerly worked for The Associated Press in Phoenix as a legislative and general assignment reporter. In 2016, she conducted extensive interviews and research in Portuguese and Spanish for the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative team at McClatchy, which was the only U.S. newspaper to gain initial access to the Panama Papers. She is a Rio de Janeiro native and graduated from the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
Posted inPolitics
Lawmakers advance bills banning bump stocks, ‘ghost guns’
Connecticut lawmakers on both sides of the aisle voted Tuesday to move forward legislation that would ban bump stocks and untraceable firearms called “ghost guns.” The measures, passed by the Judiciary Committee, will now move to the floor of the legislature.
Posted inNews
Sentencing change would help immigrants avoid ICE involvement
A bill recommended by the Connecticut Sentencing Commission would shave misdemeanor sentences from 365 days to 364 — minimizing the chance immigrants convicted of low-level crimes would face involvement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Posted inPolitics
White House encouraging states to consider red-flag law CT pioneered
The White House will be encouraging states to consider enacting a law Connecticut pioneered that allows the seizure of guns from people who might hurt themselves or others, administration officials said Monday.
Posted inPolitics
Thousands come together to ‘March for Our Lives’ in Hartford
A gathering police say grew to about 11,000 included demonstrators of all ages bearing signs that read “Not One More,” “Protect My Students,” and “We Call B.S.” Throngs of marchers standing in Bushnell Park could be heard chanting “no more silence, end gun violence,” and “enough is enough.”
Posted inPolitics
Bills to ban bump stocks, ‘ghost guns’ pack a hearing
Supporters and opponents of two bills that would ban bump stocks and untraceable “ghost guns” packed a public hearing at the state Capitol complex Friday, testifying all day and into the night over the devices. Several states already have enacted or are considering their own bans on bump stocks.
Posted inPolitics
CT students gear up for ‘March for Our Lives’ in Washington
Kalea Barger of Morris, a Wamogo Regional High School senior, is one of hundreds of thousands of youth across the nation expected to take part in the “March for Our Lives” in Washington, D.C., on Saturday calling for tighter gun control and a stop to mass school shootings.
Posted inJustice
Malloy pushes one more time to expand juvenile court jurisdiction
“We know that if we can avoid exposing young adults who have committed less serious crimes to the adult criminal justice system, the less likely they are to reoffend or ultimately become incarcerated,” Malloy said.
Posted inPolitics
An annoyed Malloy bears down on push for bump-stock ban
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday reiterated his disappointment over a legislative committee’s failure to vote Friday on his bill to prohibit the sale of bump stocks in Connecticut, but another legislative committee is set to take up similar legislation later this week.
Posted inJustice
CT students join nationwide protest, demand end to gun violence
Updated at 8:45 p.m.
Students in Newtown capped a day of protest Wednesday as thousands of Connecticut students joined youths across the nation to protest gun violence and call on Congress to act on gun control measures. Meanwhile in Washington, thousands of students from schools across the nation, including Connecticut, gathered on the U.S. Capitol grounds and in front of the White House.
Posted inJustice, News
James Forman Jr., tackling criminal justice from multiple angles
James Forman Jr. is a professor at Yale Law School, where he teaches courses including constitutional law, “Race, Class and Punishment” and a seminar where he brings law students into a Connecticut prison to take a class alongside people who are incarcerated. In this Sunday conversation, The Mirror sat down with Forman at his office in New Haven to hear about his career, the classes he’s teaching at Yale, and his 2017 book called “Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America.”
Posted inMoney
NBA and MLB officials call for fee from legal sports betting
Officials from the two leagues said they would seek an “integrity fee” of 1 percent of all bets placed to guard against suspicious betting and manipulation, and to compensate them for the value of their product.
Posted inMoney
CT lawmakers explore sports betting ahead of SCOTUS decision
House Democratic leaders are preparing to enact legislation this spring to launch Connecticut’s own legal sports betting industry. Their plan, though, is conditional upon an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision, which would have to green-light such activity.
Posted inJustice
Slossberg recuses herself from McDonald confirmation vote
Sen. Gayle Slossberg has recused herself from voting on the nomination of Andrew J. McDonald for chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court — a move that could weaken McDonald’s chances of confirmation.
Posted inJustice
Tie vote sends McDonald nomination to legislature with unfavorable recommendation
The Judiciary Committee vote came after legislators questioned McDonald for about 12 hours, pressing him on his Supreme Court vote to abolish Connecticut’s death penalty, his record as a Democratic legislator, and his friendship with Malloy.