The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Democrats want McDonald do-over
But GOP says ‘vote is done’ on his chief justice bid
HARTFORD — Less than 24 hours after Senate Republicans and one Democrat voted to prevent state Supreme Court Justice Andrew J. McDonald from becoming chief justice, Democrats asked the naysayers to reconsider Wednesday.
Citing an uproar among leading Connecticut lawyers and newspaper editorial pages, Democrats led by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney and Majority Leader Bob Duff admitted it’s a “last ditch effort” to persuade someone among the 19 who voted to reject McDonald to possibly change their votes.
Republican Senate Leader Len Fasano tersely swatted away the request.
“This is an extraordinary and historic action,” admitted Looney, D-New Haven, during a news conference in the Capitol. “However, in order to preserve the independence of Connecticut’s judicial system and ensure that petty partisan politics does not infect the judiciary, the senate should reconsider Justice McDonald’s nomination.”
Under General Assembly rules, a lawmaker who votes on the prevailing side of an issue may ask for legislation to be reconsidered. It is a rare parliamentary tactic.
Duff, D-Norwalk, called arguments against McDonald’s nomination “unfounded.” He emphasized that deans of the Yale, UConn and Quinnipiac law schools, the Connecticut Bar Association and dozens of other lawyers have vouched for McDonald’s character and qualifications. Duff and Looney cited newspaper editorials critical of McDonald’s opposition.
The Senate voted 19 to 16 on Tuesday against McDonald, a five-year member of the high court who would have become the first openly gay chief justice in the nation. Democrat Sen. Joan Hartley of Waterbury crossed party lines to vote with the entire 18member Senate Republican caucus. At the start of the four-hour debate Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, recused herself, because of a 2012 conflict with McDonald.
Democrats said they would contact all the Senate opponents about possibly changing their votes, Looney said. Fasano was certain the maneuver won’t work.
“Both Republicans and Democrats voted against the governor’s nominee,” Fasano, R-North Haven, said in a statement. “The vote is done. I look forward to learning who Gov. Malloy will nominate next.”
Malloy commended Democrats’ efforts to revive McDonald’s nomination Wednesday. Under state law, he has five business days to name another nominee. With the Good Friday state holiday this week, the governor’s deadline is Wednesday, April 4.
Meanwhile, lawyers from throughout the state were stunned at the defeat of Malloy’s nominee.
Norm Pattis, a nationally known criminal and civilrights lawyer who had warned that Republicans were threatening the independent judiciary with party politics, on Wednesday targeted Fasano, promising to work to defeat his re-election effort.
“Fasano led the charge against McDonald, standing in the well of the Senate and parsing recent Su- preme Court decisions in high-profile cases,” Pattis wrote in his weblog. “Fasano’s entitled to his opinions, of course. We all are. But if you cherish an independent judiciary, the sight of Fasano playing eighth justice (there are seven justices on the Connecticut Supreme Court) was terrifying. Playing eighth justice from the Senate floor was a disgraceful performance.”
Pattis pointed out that two major cases cited by Fasano in his criticism of McDonald were misinterpreted by the Republican leader, who is also a lawyer.
Ed Gavin, a Bridgeport defense lawyer who has represented other highprofile clients, said he is concerned about the new obstacles that are likely to interfere with the Judiciary.
“I am embarrassed to be a citizen of Connecticut after the way Andrew was treated,” Gavin said Wednesday. “Do jurists have to get the green light from the legislature to make the tough calls they are trained to make? Is this a sign that judges have to make politically correct decisions, satisfying the agenda of whatever party has the majority, to get reappointed? A dark day for the people of Connecticut.”