Chase T. Rogers (Old Lyme) Reconfirmed as Chief Justice

Eight years. By our historical temporal scale, eight years is but an instant . . . a veritable flash of light that will barely be noticed on our anthropological calendar. If, however, you are an individual — or worse yet — a family living in Connecticut and need to use the programs, activities or services of our state courts to help you resolve any sort of legal dispute, best if you're wearing a seat belt or something else because it's likely to be a bumpy ride for the foreseeable future.

Either our General Assembly was uninformed, duped, or chose to ignore the full scope of information before them. The Senate had already voted unanimously, as had the Joint Committee on Judiciary, but is it possible that all the public voices would be dismissed, individually and collectively? At this point, it would appear so as the final vote was 139 members of the House voting in favor of the resolution confirming the nomination of the Honorable Chase T. Rogers of Old Lyme to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a Judge of the Superior Court. Just 74 votes were needed for passage, and so the resolution carried. Only 6 legislators voted "Nay" (Representatives Arce, Candelara, Gonzalez, Sanchez, Tercyzak, and Carter), but even among this group, only Rep. Minnie Gonzalez, a Hartford-Democrat, rose to explain her vote in opposition.

The final vote as reflected on the board in the House of Representatives Chamber, 139 Yea Votes, 6 Nay Votes, 6 Absent and/or Not Voting. Only Rep's Arce, Candelaria, Gonzalez, Sanchez, Tercyak, and Carter cast Nay votes. 

The vote to consider Rogers reappointment was just one piece of business before the Connecticut House of Representatives on Wednesday, April 22, 2015. The live video coverage by CT-N can now be viewed on demand as part of their archive. To view the relevant portion, advance the below video to the 01:32:55 time mark, you will see and hear remarks from Rep. William Tong (Stamford, also co-chair of the Judiciary Committee), Rep. Rosa Rebimbas (Naugatuck), Rep. Terrie Wood (Darien, Norwalk), Rep. Devin Carney (Old Saybrook, Lyme, Old Lyme, Westbrook), and closing with opposition by Rep. Minnie Gonzalez (Hartford). The votes were cast and the clerk reads the tally, and just 23 minutes after the resolution had been called, it was all over. Resolution adopted at 01:55:48. Another 8 years . . . unless, of course, people in certain positions, both state and federal, actually step up and do their job as awkward and career-limiting as it might seem. We shall see!

4/10/2015 - Judiciary Committee Public Hearing

Chase T. Rogers Renomination Hearing To Serve As Chief Justice

This 12+ hour Judiciary Committee video features the consideration of Chase T. Rogers, current Chief Justice of Connecticut's Supreme Court for her renomination to a second 8-year term. The Chief Justice serves a dual role as both the top jurist of our highest state court, but also as the head of our state Judicial Branch, directing the efforts of thousands of employees and an annual budget exceeding $600 million. Following her statements, there was public testimony for and against renomination.

One thing becomes clear after watching this testimony — there appears to be some very real problems in our state courts, regardless of which attorney/jurist is tasked with heading up the effort. If even a small portion of the testimony is to be believed, malfeasance appears to have infiltrated nearly every aspect of the judicial system, bottom to top, and the public appears to have lost confidence. To restore that confidence, real changes will need to be evident - and soon.  

NAME OF SPEAKER	START TIME
Senate Chair Eric Coleman, Esq. (D)	00:00:00
Judge William B. Rush (Fairfield)	00:03:45
Judge Robert F. Vacchelli (Glastonbury)	00:15:00
Judge Robin Pavia (Easton)	00:48:40
Judge James W. Abrams (Meriden)	01:27:20
Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers (Old Lyme)	02:25:15
Atty. Susan O. Storey, Chief Public Defender  >> See Note Below	06:13:40
Atty. Kevin T. Kane, Chief State's Attorney  >> See Note Below	06:30:15
Atty. William H. Clendenen, Jr.	06:33:55
Atty. Paul Greenan (Stamford)	06:43:00
Atty. Priya Morganstern, Director Pro Bono Partnership	07:07:30
Mr. Roger Emerick (Glastonbury)	07:11:40
Mr. Adam McNiece (East Lyme)	07:16:10
Mrs. Maureen Martowska, J.D. (Mass)	07:20:50
Miss Jennifer Verraneault (Branford)	07:33:55
Atty. Frederic S. Ury   >> See Note Below	07:49:25
Mr. Sylvestor Traylor (Oxford) Exhibit	07:53:12
Atty. Steven Eppler-Epstein	08:07:00
Mr. John Clapp	08:13:40
Ms. Cheryl Martone	08:17:45
Mr. Louis Roman (Bridgeport)	08:22:00
Mr. Michael Porzio	08:32:30
Mr. Harold Wilson	08:38:05
Mr. Scott Buden	08:42:45
Ms. Kathryn Sorrentino	08:51:20
Ms. Jeryl Gray	09:05:30
Ms. Linda Palermo	09:11:05
Ms. Marisa Ringel (Southport)	09:16:00
Mr. Daniel M. Lynch (Trumbull)	09:20:10
Ms. Susan Skipp (Litchfield)	09:40:00
Atty. Francis J. Brady (Granby)	09:45:50
Mr. Henry J. Martocchio	09:49:20
Ms. Jane Doe	09:53:50
Mr. Paul Koch (Old Greenwich)	09:57:20
Mr. Hector Morera	10:02:00
Mr. Bill Mulready (Bridgeport), Equal and the Same	10:06:10
Mr. Joey Watley (Thomaston)	10:11:05
Ms. Marjorie Partch	10:20:25
Ms. Ges Elbay?	10:26:00
Mr. Albert Cuseo (Westport)	10:33:45
Ms. Melissa Harris	10:40:10
Public Hearing Closes	10:50:30
Judiciary Committee Meeting Convenes	10:53:10

You can follow this link if you wish to browse the Judiciary Testimony for 04/10/2015. If a name appearing above appears as a link, you can use that link to directly access their testimony as posted on the Judiciary Committee Web site. Additional written testimony may be available on the Judiciary Committee Web site for those who either chose not to present oral testimony or may have been unable to given the duration of the public hearing. One additional advocate opposing the renomination, Elizabeth A. Richter, had shared her recorded testimony prior to the hearing because she was unable to attend.

The public hearing lasted nearly 11 hours. During that time, the first 80-85 minutes were for renomination of four Superior Court Judges (or Judge Trial Referee). The testimony of Chase T. Rogers, including questions and answers, was approximately 3 hours and 45 minutes in length. Following the question/answer portion of the hearing, 7 attorney's and 2 non-attorneys spoke in support of Chase Rogers, and 23 individuals spoke in opposition (including 2 attorneys), with 3 others voicing concerns about the judicial system, but not voicing specific opposition or support of renomination. 

Special Note: From a 'Full Disclosure' perspective, it might have been good for a few of those individuals who gave oral testimony in support of the renomination to have mentioned that they had been appointed by the Chief Justice to serve as a member of one or more Judicial Branch Committees, Commissions or Boards. For example: Attorney's Kevin T. Kane, Susan O. Storey, and Frederick S. Ury serve as members of the Public Service and Trust Commission.

Chief Justice Re-Nomination Hearing Set - 4/10/2015

As with other jurists in Connecticut, the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, once appointed, serves a term of eight years. The term for our current Chief Justice, Chase T. Rogers, is set to expire in late April 2015. After having been rescheduled several times, the re-nomination hearing before the Connecticut Joint Committee on Judiciary is set for April 10, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.

You can use the following links to:

• View agenda for the April 10, 2015 Judiciary Committee Public Hearing
• Visit main web page for Joint Committee on Judiciary