One of Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers’ proudest accomplishments is having Connecticut’s high court sitting as a full en banc court of seven whenever possible. Like the U.S. Supreme Court, where nine justices traditionally sit en banc, this gives the greatest possible weight and authority to the court’s opinions.
That ideal has been sidetracked for awhile, as the administration of Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy considers how best to build the top court. When the court’s first term of the judicial year began Sept. 17, it wasn’t fielding a full first-string team. Malloy has not yet filled the seat vacated in June when C. Ian McLachlan reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
