Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) stood by his strong support of Justice Andrew McDonald’s nomination as Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
Senator Looney cited Justice McDonald’s experience in all three branches of state government—making Justice McDonald uniquely qualified to lead the court. No other nominee for Chief Justice has served as Senate Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Counsel to the Governor and Associate Justice of the State Supreme Court as Justice McDonald has.
“No longer confined to President Donald Trump in Washington D.C., the politics of hate and bigotry that is seeping into the Republican mainstream is now front and center here in Connecticut,” said Senator Looney. “Justice McDonald and other judicial nominees have been under attack by the homophobic, anti-Semitic dark corners of the internet.”
Justice McDonald’s nomination is supported by the President of the Connecticut Bar Association, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, and the law school deans of Yale University, Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut.
“I am proud to support Andrew McDonald for Chief Justice of the Connecticut State Supreme Court. He is a kind and compassionate person as well as a brilliant and thoughtful jurist,” said Senator Looney. “Justice McDonald on the basis of ability and merit clearly deserves the support of this committee and confirmation by both chambers of the General Assembly,” the senator continued.
Previously, Justice McDonald was confirmed by a 33-3 vote of the Senate and 125-20 in the House of Representatives. Any changes in the opinions of legislators concerning Justice McDonald’s qualifications raise the question, “What has changed for Republican legislators?”