Press Releases
03/25/2018
Gov. Malloy’s Prepared Remarks from Today’s News Conference at the State Capitol
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy delivered the following prepared remarks regarding the nomination for Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court during a news conference this afternoon at the State Capitol in Hartford:
This afternoon, Senator Fasano informed me that the Senate Republicans plan to vote as a block against the nomination of Andrew McDonald to serve as the next Chief Justice of our Supreme Court. I’d like to make three points before taking your questions.
First, I’ve said this numerous times before, but I think it bears repeating – I will not pull Justice McDonald’s nomination. I think he deserves a vote, and it my understanding from Sen. Looney that he will get one. He is extremely well qualified to not only sit on the Supreme Court, but to serve as Chief Justice.
You don’t have to take my word for it. Justice McDonald’s nomination has been widely supported by Connecticut’s legal community, including lawyers, judges, and the deans of law schools, including UConn, Quinnipiac, and Northeastern amongst others. He has the support of the current President of the Connecticut Bar Association, the incoming President of the Connecticut Bar Association, and leaders of legal membership organizations representing both plaintiffs and defendants. His nomination has won the support of editorial boards from across the state, including the Hartford Courant, the New London Day, the New Haven Register, the Connecticut Post, the Manchester Journal Inquirer, and the Connecticut Law Tribune.
And that leads to my second point. We have heard time and time again that this is not about politics. We’ve been told it is not a “caucus position.” We’ve been told that members were doing their own extensive research into Andrew’s decisions.
Perhaps all 18 senators weren’t directly told how to vote, but I think it strains credulity to say that all 18 people in that caucus did their homework for weeks and weeks and all 18 just happened to arrive at the same conclusion. A conclusion that is counter to all those lawyers, all those deans, and all those editorial boards I just named. They also did their homework. What are the odds?
If this comes to pass, it will be a vote based on politics. In fact, it appears this was always going to a partisan vote. Because despite their many questions and many very serious concerns, Connecticut Republicans were always just trying to justify a no vote.
You need look no further than the letter my staff has just shared with you. Received just this morning from a Professor of Clinical Law Emeritus at Yale Law School, the letter directly rebuts a claim that Senator Fasano has made repeatedly about Justice McDonald’s concurrent opinion in Santiago, where he cited a study by Professor John J. Donohue III.
Senator Fasano personally represented to me that this was among his core concerns regarding Andrew’s nomination, believing that it was an ethical lapse. Will the clear opinion of a prominent Yale professor who has studied and taught the ethics of lawyers and judges for many years assuage Senator Fasano’s concerns? Of course it won’t, and here is why: Len was always going to vote no.
I think this very political vote stands in stark contrast to my own record. Over my seven years as Governor, I have re-nominated every Republican judge whose term was up. In fact, I have re-nominated individuals who I profoundly disagree with in terms of their legal reasoning. I’ve done it because I don’t believe in politicizing our bench.
Here’s my third and final point. Just like elections, votes have consequences. If the Senate Republicans choose to vote down an extremely qualified candidate for chief justice, and someone who also would be the first gay chief justice in the country, they should be held accountable. At a time when voters across this nation are taking a principled stand and rejecting Washington-style obstructionist tactics — you bet that they will hold Connecticut Republicans accountable.
They will be held accountable to their constituents, their colleagues, to you the press, and to the legal community who so clearly disagrees with what they are doing. With that, I’ll take your questions.
**Download: Letter to Senator Fasano from Yale Law School Professor of Clinical Law Emeritus Dennis E. Curtis
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