Connecticut
Kevin Rennie: Connecticut Bar Association is familiar with silence at crucial moments
Watch your mouth. That was the message from the Connecticut Bar Association’s three top leaders to the organization’s thousands of members, of which I’m one. The June 13 statement was prompted by perpetually aggrieved Donald Trump supporters hurling abuse at prosecutors, jurors and Judge Juan Merchan after the former president’s conviction this month on 34 counts of violating New York law through a 2016 hush money scheme.
The CBA officers, Maggie Castinado, James T. Shearin and Emily A. Gianquinto, condemned but did not name public officials who issued statements calling the trial a sham, hoax, and rigged; abused Judge Merchan as corrupt and unethical; and claimed the jury was partisan and in the bag for guilty verdicts from the start.
The statement excoriated social media posts seeking to breach the confidentiality of the jurors’ identity. What it did not allege is that any Connecticut lawyers were participating in these assaults on the rule of law. Near its conclusion, the trio’s homily got to the point. “It is up to us, as lawyers,” they wrote, “to defend the courts and our judges. As individuals, and as an Association, we cannot let the charged political climate in which we live dismantle the third branch of government. To remain silent renders us complicit in that effort.”
And then U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a lawyer, had to go and spoil it all three days later by unleashing the same type of hyperbole. He called the Supreme Court “brazenly corrupt and brazenly political” on CNN. Murphy added that Justice Clarence Thomas is “just a grift,” while Justice Samuel Alito is an open political partisan.
As of Friday, the civility umpires at the CBA had issued no statement chiding Murphy.
The CBA is familiar with silence at crucial moments. Six years ago, a mob of antisemites targeted the renomination of Judge Jane Emons to the Superior Court. Judge Emons was the target of appalling rhetoric. The CBA released no thunderbolts as the House of Representatives refused to vote on her renomination, forcing her off the bench.
A few years ago, I wrote about Alice Bruno, a Connecticut judge who failed to show up for work for two years while continuing to receive her salary and benefits. Emails showed plenty of people knew that Judge Bruno had been missing in action, but they remained silent. Bruno’s fate was decided in a secret proceeding when she was granted a disability pension that currently pays her more than $5,000 every two weeks. She worked, often erratically, as a Superior Court judge for only four years before she stopped showing up in 2019.
Before becoming a judge, Bruno did an 18-month stint as executive director of the Connecticut Bar Association. It remained silent throughout the Bruno saga, which undermined the public’s confidence in the judiciary.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal published a sensational investigation into the appalling saga of a federal bankruptcy judge and his personal relationship with lawyer Elizabeth Freeman, who had been his law partner and clerk in Houston. One of the nation’s biggest law firms, Kirkland & Ellis, brought in Freeman to work with it on cases before her boyfriend, Judge David R. Jones.
An anonymous letter lit the fuse on exposing the shocking conflicts at work in the nation’s busiest bankruptcy court. Michael Van Deelan, a small investor in a firm that filed for bankruptcy in the Houston court, believed he had not been treated fairly in the shakeout of the company. Van Deelan received a copy of the letter and filed it with the court in an attempt to have Jones disqualified from his case. Van Deelan’s motion was denied and the letter was sealed from public view, the Journal reported.
Van Deelan discovered through an internet search that Jones and Freeman owned a house together since 2017. Plenty of lawyers appear to have known that the two were engaged in a romantic relationship. To expose it would have ended a sweet arrangement that was a bonanza for the firms and their bankruptcy clients who brought Freeman in on their cases.
No one said a word. Only Van Deelan, a 74-year-old retired math teacher, brought justice where corruption ruled. It took an Appellate Court judge only a week to find probable cause by Jones for failing to disclose his relationship with Freeman. He resigned.
It requires no courage for bar association leaders to condemn those discreditable officials who donned red ties and made pilgrimages to New York to stand outside the courthouse to mewl and whine that the justice system was targeting the loathsome demagogue, Donald Trump.
To shine a searing light when something goes wrong in the judicial branch of government when no one is paying attention— that’s what protects the integrity of the system.
Kevin Rennie can be reached at kfrennie@yahoo.com
More than 200 people gathered May 28 in Norwalk for a night of food and entertainment supporting Connecticut Foodshare’s mission to fight food insecurity.
The second annual Taste of SoNo brought together local restaurants, business leaders, community partners, volunteers, donors, and supporters to celebrate Fairfield County’s vibrant culinary community.
The event took place in The Magnificent Room at the SoNo Collection.
Guests sampled offerings from more than a dozen local restaurants, distilleries, breweries, and other exhibitors.
They also learned more about Connecticut Foodshare’s work through its network of community partners, mobile pantries, and other hunger-relief programs.
Community Impact
The evening featured live music and a silent auction with dining, music, and sports experiences, along with artwork and sports memorabilia.
“We are extremely thankful to everyone who attended and supported Connecticut Foodshare through this event,” said Connecticut Foodshare president and CEO Jason Jakubowski.
“The generosity of our restaurant partners, sponsors, volunteers, and guests helps us continue our mission.”
Connecticut Foodshare’s Jason Jakubowski
“The generosity of our restaurant partners, sponsors, volunteers, and guests helps us continue our mission to end hunger in Connecticut and ensure that families facing food insecurity have access to the nutritious food they need.”
Connecticut Foodshare hosted the event for the second year and has already started planning next year’s Taste of SoNo.
Mainly dry with more clouds and a spotty shower/storm today! Briefly humid conditions with some rain/thunder tomorrow before dry and less humid weather returns again for Friday, Juneteenth. We need rain, as parts of Connecticut continue to experience moderate drought conditions and the next drought update comes out tomorrow! So far, the Father’s Day weekend is looking mainly dry and nice!
The tropical Atlantic remains mostly quiet, with only one area in the western Gulf. At this point, it has a 50% chance of development over the next 7 days. The circulation will bring severe flooding inland from Texas through the southeast!
Early this morning: A few clouds and still comfortable with lows 50-59. A pretty sunrise possible in parts of CT.
Today: Clouds and sun with still low humidity. A widely scattered shower or t-storm in the afternoon/evening. The highest chance will be in the western half of Connecticut. Highs 75-80.
Tonight: A bit windy for the evening with rising humidity overnight. Some spotty light rain possible late. Lows 60-65.
Tomorrow: Humid and windy with more numerous showers and storms. Not all day rain & some sunny breaks too! There is a strong storm potential with a strong wind gust. Highs in the upper 70s to the low 80s. Wind gusts to 35 mph.
Friday (Juneteenth): Clouds and sun and less humid. Rain just south of Long Island. Windy with highs 75-80
Saturday: Partly sunny, windy and nice with highs near 80.
Sunday (Father’s Day and 1st Day of Summer): Mostly sunny, breezy and pleasant. Highs near 80.
Monday: Beneficial rain with highs in the 70s.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny and warmer with highs 80-85.
Wednesday: Partly sunny. Highs in the low to mid 80s.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Housing advocates and experts are weighing in on a recent report on Connecticut’s housing crisis, after the state received a failing score for a second year in a row.
Titled “Grading the States: Affordability & Homebuilding Report Cards,” the Nutmeg State ranks at number 46 compared to all 50 states. Each grade is weighed on a 100-point scale across two factors: affordability and homebuilding.
The median household income sits at $95,392 per year in Connecticut, yet the median listing price for a home lands a little over $500,000.
While some believe there is some truth to the score, people like Connecticut Realtor Michael Barbaro say it’s a bit of an oversimplification.
“The fact is, we’re a small state. We have high density, we have older housing stock,” Barbaro said. “So all these factors coming together, giving us that score is probably not fair. It’s probably penalizing us for characteristics that we just can’t change here.”
While Connecticut has seen a rise in building permits, factors like a high cost of living, rising construction costs and restrictive regulations aren’t helping in the eyes of some.
To address the state’s housing needs, at least 120,000 units need to be built, according to a 2025 commissioned study by the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management.
“We’re digging out of like a really deep hole on under production,” Chelsea Ross, executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, said. “So it’s going to take us a while to have that part of our grade increase.”
State lawmakers passed legislation last year, formally known as House Bill 5002, with the goal to incentivize new builds and alter zoning regulations.
While advocates of the bill praised the step, some say it’s just a start.
“What we have is kind of a framework for that work, but no real enforcement on how suburbs are going to handle that and ensure that they’re building more affordable housing,” Representative Antonio Felipe, chair of the legislative housing committee said.
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