The Connecticut Legislature’s Judiciary Committee on Monday will begin consideration of Andrew J. McDonald as the next chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
If confirmed, McDonald would become the nation’s first openly gay chief justice.
McDonald, 51, already has made history as the first openly gay member of the Connecticut Supreme Court as well as the first to serve as a legislator.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated McDonald for the court’s top post in January. McDonald served as legal adviser to Malloy when he was mayor of Stamford and later in the governor’s office. Malloy, a Democrat, nominated McDonald to the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2013.
In comments to the Connecticut Post, Malloy called McDonald “brilliant.”
“He’s one of the smartest people I have ever met,” Malloy said. “All I ask is that he be judged on the answers to questions and on what he’s written. At the end, if there are reasonable differences, so be it.”
Republicans in the state are pressing for a delay in the appointment of a new chief justice until the next governor takes office in 2019.
Other opponents include a website called thefamilycourtcircus.com, which referred to McDonald’s nomination under the headline “Jewdicial Sodomites.” Christian conservative Mat Staver, who helms Liberty Counsel, also attacked McDonald’s nomination, saying he’s incapable of giving Christians a “fair shake” in court.
“The question is: are you going to get a fair shake out of this individual who identifies as someone based upon his sexual practices, who is identified and identifies himself based upon certain behavior?” Staver said. “Are you gonna get a fair shake? I don’t think so.”
In an editorial published Sunday, the Stamford Advocate pushed back on the argument that McDonald lacks the appropriate experience.
“After five years, he is the second-longest serving associate justice currently on the bench,” editors wrote. “In addition to his election to local boards in Stamford, he was a state senator, giving him valuable understanding of municipal operations, as well as how the state machine works. It’s also in his blood, as his mother, the late Anne McDonald, was a well-respected longtime state representative. He is such a political wonk that he listened to radio broadcasts of local government proceedings as a boy.”
by Carlos Santoscoy
Source – On Top Magazine
