Editorials

Commentary

Viewpoint: Judge Ellis Is a Bully in a Black Robe

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 16, 2018

He has described himself as “Caesar in my own Rome,” and his bizarre behavior, thus far directed almost exclusively at the federal prosecutors, suggests he truly believes that self-description.

Commentary

An Overly Broad Interpretation of the Rule of Confidentiality

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 10, 2018

Most lawyers believe that if they file a document in court or with a public agency the Rules of Professional Conduct (“the Rules”) do not prohibit…

Commentary

Flip-Flopping at the State Supreme Court

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 03, 2018

Tie votes on motions should either always or never result in adding a tiebreaker. We could support either way, but the court should choose one way or the other now.

Commentary

Progressive Causes Suffer Under 'Weaponization' of First Amendment

Connecticut Editorial Board | August 03, 2018

Much has been, and will be, written about the Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.…

Commentary

Breaches of State Leadership Upset Delicate Balance

Connecticut Editorial Board | July 25, 2018

For the second time in the last legislative session, Joseph Aresimowicz, the speaker of the House of Representatives, breached his fiduciary duty to the public.

Commentary

Comparing Expert Witnesses Here and Across the Pond

EDITORIAL BOARD | July 20, 2018

Sometimes other legal systems have good ideas. When it comes to experts, the English system certainly does.

Commentary

Trump Commits Presidential Assault on Family Integrity

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | July 13, 2018

This policy is brutal. It is barbaric. And it is disgusting.

Commentary

Connecticut Legislature Folds to Mob Justice

Connecticut Editorial Board | July 05, 2018

We look to our leaders to stand up for right and to show courage. The General Assembly let us down on this one. Up or down, they should have voted. The General Assembly ducked this issue. Democracy has taken a hit. And sadly so too has Emons.

Commentary

Lawmakers Missed an Opportunity to Reform Sex-Offender Registry

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 28, 2018

Hopefully, the Sentencing Commission will resubmit its well-researched, broadly debated and carefully drafted proposal for reform to the registry again next year and it will be enacted by the Legislature.

Commentary

Remembering Lesser-Known Founding Father Luther Martin

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 21, 2018

Many Americans recall that, ironically, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 within hours of one another. Few recall that another noteworthy…

Commentary

Closing Argument: Time to Stop Ignoring the State's Eviction Crisis

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 14, 2018

Lawyers can do much to prevent or mitigate the poverty-causing effects of evictions, and we must do more to address this growing crisis.

Commentary

Golden State Killer Case Raises Legal, Ethical DNA Issues

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 08, 2018

We urge lawyers and bar associations to take the lead in giving guidance to practitioners and clients about the issues raised by this new forensic technology.

Commentary

Napping While Black: Policing Northern Color Lines in the Modern Day

Connecticut Editorial Board | June 08, 2018

Recent incidents have revealed ways white people—often specifically white women—are still using the law to maintain white dominance in the northern states.

Commentary

Excelsior: Fondly Remembering the Late Tom Ullmann

Connecticut Editorial Board | May 25, 2018

The members of the editorial board were shocked and deeply saddened to hear that a beloved member, Thomas J. Ullmann, died in a hiking accident on April 13, 2018, in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.

Commentary

State Legislature Finally Passes Revised Uniform Arbitration Act

Connecticut Editorial Board | May 15, 2018

With the increasing use of arbitration as a means of resolving disputes throughout the state and at the federal level, this is a positive step toward revising and modernizing arbitration procedures.

Commentary

Viewpoint: Connecticut's Gun Seizure Law Can Serve as National Model

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 27, 2018

Connecticut was the first state in the nation to pass a law to allow police to obtain a court order to seize guns from anyone who presents an imminent risk of harming himself or someone else.

Commentary

State's Teen Criminal Cases Belong in Juvenile Court

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 20, 2018

At 14, children cannot drive, buy alcohol or cigarettes, cannot vote and cannot be employed by grocery stores. They certainly shouldn’t be exposed to lifelong adult felony convictions.

Commentary

Salary Options Limited for Retired Teachers Returning to Work

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | April 06, 2018

Those who have retired from a public school position may only be re-employed in a public school at a salary of no more than 45 percent of the maximum salary level for the position.

Commentary

MCLEs in Connecticut: Better Late Than Never

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 30, 2018

The Superior Court Rules Committee adopted MCLE in June 2016 to be effective Jan. 1, 2017, and its implementation in the intervening year has demonstrated unequivocally that the fear of—and opposition to—MCLE was completely unwarranted.

Commentary

Reversal of Bite-Mark Murder Conviction Mandates Hard Look at Forensic Evidence

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | March 16, 2018

Courts may not be able to foresee how science will change, but they can—and should—limit forensic experts from overstating the probative value of their opinions.

Commentary

Challenging Premise That McDonald Should Have Recused in ‘Santiago’

Wesley Horton | March 06, 2018

Andrew McDonald is a centrist justice with whom all legislators should be very comfortable.

Commentary

Examining Judiciary Committee's Examination of Justice Andrew McDonald

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 06, 2018

The nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald to become our state Supreme Court’s next chief justice has caused quite the legislative stir.

Commentary

Standing Up for Another Appropriate Supreme Court Appointment

Connecticut Editorial Board | March 06, 2018

An independent judiciary is paramount to a free society. We call on our legislators, once again, to approve the nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald because he is qualified to do the job as chief justice. That's really the only relevant question.

Commentary

In Support of Andrew McDonald

Robert Mitchell | February 28, 2018

Over the last few days Connecticut has been subjected to a disreputable effort by some Republicans and so-called conservatives to transplant the vicious, unreasoning politics of Washington, D.C., to Hartford.

Commentary

1 More Civil War Statue for Forgotten Hero

Connecticut Editorial Board | February 22, 2018

Mississippi should commission the creation of a new statue to recognize a real state hero, Hiram Robles Revels, to be placed in the National Statuary Hall as the first black U.S. senator to serve.

Commentary

How Do We Maintain Financial Order in the Court?

Connecticut Editorial Board | February 09, 2018

As Connecticut continues its financial convulsions, nary a word has been uttered about attempting to make the operation of the judicial branch more efficient.

Commentary

Immunity for Gun Makers Impedes Needed Reforms

Editorial Board | February 02, 2018

Last year saw the most mass killings in the United States since USA Today began tracking them in 2006.

Commentary

SCOTUS Missed Its Mark in 'Murr v. Wisconsin'

Editorial Board | February 01, 2018

Last term in "Murr v. Wisconsin," the U.S. Supreme Court attempted, without real success, to answer the question of what is the relevant parcel or total property interest to be considered in weighing whether a regulation affecting part of it has gone “too far” so as to effect a compensable taking under the Fifth Amendment.

Commentary

Support Yale Law Volunteers Advocating for Asylum Seekers

Connecticut Editorial Board | January 18, 2018

In the spring of 2016 four Yale law students founded an organization to respond to the unmet legal needs of Central American refugee families fleeing…

Commentary

Danger of Normalized Malignancy: Attorneys Must Speak Out

Connecticut Editorial Board | January 11, 2018

We, as lawyers, have a heightened duty to speak out about aberrant presidential behavior that threatens to erode our very democracy.

Commentary

Our Hopes and Wishes for the New Year

The Editorial Board | January 05, 2018

The collective wishes from the editorial board of the Connecticut Law Tribune for all our readers in 2018.

Viewpoint: Fed Approval Not Needed for State's 3rd Tribal Casino

TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD | November 21, 2017

MGM is using lots of resources to ensure that any profits from casino gambling in our corner of the country go into its pockets rather than to Connecticut tribes and taxpayers. The power of their opposition shouldn’t mean that we accept specious legal arguments.

Politicians Foolishly Suggest Abandoning Rule of Law

CLT Editorial Board | November 21, 2017

If we mean what we say about our love for our country and its freedoms, then we must do our best to insist on these American rights, especially for those who hurt us.

Commentary

Viewpoint: A Solution In Search of a Problem

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | November 10, 2017

The Rules Committee of the Superior Court will consider a proposed amendment to Rule 1.11 of the Rules of Professional Conduct at its Nov. 16, meeting.…

Cake Bakers Are Subject To Antidiscrimination Laws

Connecticut Editorial Board | October 27, 2017

Does a devout Christian who is in the business of making wedding cakes for a living have a First Amendment right to refuse to make a wedding cake for a…

State-Subsidized Segregation in Connecticut

Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board | September 27, 2017

Most of Connecticut is a great place to live and raise children.

The Importance of Dissent

EDITORIAL BOARD | September 22, 2017

Not long ago, there was a widely televised meeting of all President Trump's cabinet ministers and the highest-ranking staff of the White House. One by one they each heaped lavish praise and adulation on him as if he were some sort of "Supreme Leader." Some went so far as to express profound gratitude for the "blessings" associated with serving him. While an attitude of sheepish subservience might be expected in dictatorial regimes such as North Korea, it was disturbing at best to watch it on display within the upper echelons of the leadership in this country. Perhaps most troublesome is the total lack of regard for the importance of dissent.

A Classic Second-Chance Story

EDITORIAL BOARD | September 14, 2017

The Connecticut Bar Examining Committee temporarily denied admission to Reginald Dwayne Betts based on a prior felony conviction, pursuant to bar committee regulations that require a review in such situations. We believe that once the committee reviews the unparalleled array of Betts' post-conviction achievements, it will easily conclude that there is overwhelming evidence of good moral character and/or fitness to practice law.

David vs. Goliath Battle Results in Step Forward for Open Government

EDITORIAL BOARD | August 11, 2017

Before this challenge, lawyers and clients have broadly used the privilege to make more things disappear than has David Copperfield, the famed illusionist.