With Justice Peter T. Zarella retiring in December and Justice Dennis G. Eveleigh reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 next October, the Connecticut Supreme Court soon will be dominated by appointees of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. After filling no vacancies for more than a year, Malloy is considering nominees for the trial, Appellate and Supreme courts.
Connecticut Supreme Court
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT Supreme Court rules in FOI case involving Ritter, CRRA
A unanimous ruling Monday by the Connecticut Supreme Court in a case involving a prominent lawyer-lobbyist, former House Speaker Thomas D. Ritter, seems to narrow the circumstances when a lawyer’s business or political advice is protected by lawyer-client privilege.
Posted inJustice
CT high court rules UConn wrongly fired employee for getting high at work
The state’s high court has unanimously decided the University of Connecticut was not justified in firing an employee found getting high on marijuana while on the job, a case the attorneys for the state argued would have broad implications for state employees.
Posted inJustice
Former state Supreme Court Justice David M. Borden dies at 79
David M. Borden, a former justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, died Sunday morning of cancer, according to officials at the state’s Judicial Branch. He was 79.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Court: UConn can withhold names of animal researchers, for now
The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a trial judge used the wrong legal standard when he ordered the University of Connecticut to give an animal-rights group the names of researchers who had violated animal-research protocols. The university withheld the names to protect the researchers from potential abuse by animal-rights activists.
Posted inJustice
High Court reaffirms the end of Connecticut’s death penalty
The state Supreme Court declined Thursday to reverse its 2015 decision eliminating the last vestige of capital punishment in Connecticut – the sentences facing 11 men on death row when the legislature repealed the death penalty for future crimes. The 5-2 ruling means an end to the death penalty, a punishment the General Assembly repealed for future crimes in 2012.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Legislature considers furloughs; judiciary cancels raises
Underscoring the fiscal crisis facing Connecticut, the General Assembly is considering furloughs of legislative staff, a rollback of staff raises, and a rare rejection of a negotiated contract. Meanwhile, the Judicial Branch has canceled raises for non-union employees that were to take effect Friday.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Court affirms teacher misconduct records are public
The state Supreme Court affirmed Monday that records of alleged misconduct by teachers at public schools and universities in Connecticut are public records subject to release under the Freedom of Information Act.
Posted inNews
Court warned of ‘life and death’ stakes in domestic cases
The Connecticut Supreme Court heard a public interest appeal Tuesday intended to clarify whether applications for restraining orders in family-violence cases ever can be denied without a hearing. “This isn’t a technicality,” Linda Allard of Greater Hartford Legal Aid told the court. “This is about life and death.”
Posted inEducation, Politics
UConn disciplinary investigation tests limits of FOI
The Connecticut Supreme Court was urged on the opening day of its new term Tuesday to draw “a bright line” defining when public institutions of higher education must release findings of professional misconduct and other disciplinary records.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A death penalty hypothetical for the Connecticut Supreme Court
Appellate judges are famous for asking hypothetical questions. They are a very important part of the oral argument process, as they help the judges understand how their decisions in particular cases may apply to future cases. Advocates rarely get to ask judges hypothetical questions, but I’m going to ask one anyway. It is directed to the esteemed justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court who [recently], in a 4-3 decision, abolished the death penalty. (I don’t expect an answer of course. This is just a thought experiment.)
Posted inPolitics
Court invalidates death penalty, creates campaign issue
By striking down Connecticut’s last vestige of capital punishment, the state Supreme Court on Thursday provided an opportunity for politicians to use the death penalty as a wedge issue in races for the General Assembly in 2016.
Posted inPolitics
Landmark gay marriage case has Connecticut ties, impact
WASHINGTON — Gay rights advocate Mary L. Bonauto made history in Connecticut when she championed a lawsuit that legalized gay marriage in the state. She is now in position to make it on the national stage when the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a case that could legalize gay marriage nationwide.
Posted inEducation
CT Supreme Court examining long, mandatory sentences for juveniles
With Connecticut’s legislature having failed over two sessions to amend state laws to comply with U.S. Supreme Court rulings on long sentences imposed on children, Connecticut’s highest court will soon decide three cases that have the potential to impact dozens of state inmates.
Posted inEducation
By the numbers: Integrating schools in CT
Over the last 10 years, the state has spent about $2.5 billion to offer Hartford students enrollment in an integrated school. Most of the state’s spending has gone toward opening new magnet schools in the region to encourage Hartford minority students and white students from the suburbs to enroll.