Richard Robinson, the first African-American chief justice of Connecticut, is to be sworn in Monday at a ceremony at the state Supreme Court in Hartford.
Robinson, a 60-year-old Stamford native who now lives in Stratford, is to be sworn in by Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy. The Governor has known Robinson since the 1980s when Robinson was staff counsel for the City of Stamford and Malloy was on the city finance board.
Robinson joined the Connecticut bench in 2000, first as a Superior Court judge, then in 2007 he was elevated to the State Appellate Court. In 2013 Governor Malloy appointed Robinson to the State Supreme Court. In April he nominated Robinson to head the court after his first choice for the job, Associate Justice Andrew McDonald, was rejected by the State Senate. Robinson, on the other hand, won unanimous approval from the Senate. Robinson promised lawmakers he would work to try and make the state’s judicial system fairer to minorities.
