Governor Malloy announced the final legislative confirmation of Richard A. Robinson to serve as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, following Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers' retirement from the bench on February 5, 2018. Chief Justice Robinson will be the first African American chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
The Honorable Steven Ecker of the Bridgeport Superior Court will fill the associate justice seat on the Connecticut Supreme Court. Justice Ecker has been a judge of the superior court since 2014.
"Chief Justice Robinson is a brilliant and reasoned jurist. He is dedicated to professionalism and civility and has been a champion of diversity and inclusion. He is a humble and inclusive leader and a mentor to countless prospective and current attorneys. Though not the first African American in the Connecticut Supreme Court, he is the first to become chief justice. The narrative has changed, and will change, for those who look to him as a role model.
Chief Justice Robinson will lead the Court with skill, diplomacy and, above all, fairness. I look forward to working with him and the Court to collaborate on issues impacting the profession, access to justice, and diversity and inclusion within the state."
Chief Justice Robinson has served as a Connecticut Supreme Court justice since December 19, 2013. Previously, he was appointed as a Connecticut Superior Court judge in 2000 and in 2007 he was appointed to the appellate court.
Prior to his service on the bench, Chief Justice Robinson had a distinguished career in public service, serving as chair of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch Advisory Committee of Cultural Competency. He received the CBA YLS Diversity Award in 2010, the CBA Henry J. Naruk Judiciary Award in 2017, and has been recognized as one of the NAACP 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut.