Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

February 25, 2022

Prominent Hartford lawyers among 22 Lamont nominations for judgeship

Eric Daniels
By Mark Pazniokas, CT Mirror

Gov. Ned Lamont nominated 11 men and 11 women as judges of the Superior Court on Thursday, continuing a push for equity on a trial bench that has inched closer to gender parity.

Among his picks are two prominent Hartford lawyers: Robinson+Cole Partner Eric Daniels, 59, of Glastonbury, and Alyce Alfano, 59, of Suffield, who is a partner at Shipman & Goodwin.

Two decades after law schools achieved parity in their student bodies, the trial court in Connecticut is 54% male and 46% female, with 127 judges. The system is authorized to have 185 judges.

“Our court system works the best when it reflects the diversity, experience and understanding of the people who live here,” Lamont said. 

Fourteen of the 22 were drawn from the public sector: seven are state or federal prosecutors, four are public defenders, one is an assistant attorney general and two are on legal staffs at the Capitol. The rest are in private practice.

“These men and women that I’ve selected to become judges not only have the competence, skills and proficiency to serve the court with integrity but come from a variety of backgrounds that provide them with the important shared experiences of the people who will come before them,” Lamont said.

About 30% of the judges of the Superior, Appellate and Supreme courts are racial minorities.

The class of 22 nominees is only his second since taking office three years ago. His previous class had eight women and seven men. The new nominees range in age from 34 to 60.

The nominees, who face confirmation by the General Assembly, are:

  • Stephanie Damiani, 45, of North Haven. Damiani graduated from Providence College and the Quinnipiac School of Law. She is a senior state’s attorney in New Haven.
  • Robert Golger, 60, of Trumbull. Golger graduated from Northeastern University and Suffolk University Law School. He practices at the law firm of Russo & Rizio in Fairfield. 
  • Maria del Pilar Gonzalez, 34, of Guilford. Gonzalez graduated from Quinnipiac University and the Quinnipiac School of Law. She is a federal prosecutor and former state prosecutor.
  • Christopher Griffin, 39, of Glastonbury. Griffin graduated from Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is the deputy assistant state’s attorney with the New Britain State’s Attorney’s Office.
  • Wendy Grispin, 55, of Danbury. Grispin graduated from Western Connecticut State University and Pace University School of Law. She is a member of Grispin & Chan.
  • Jassette Ann-Marie Henry, 55, of Hebron. Henry graduated from St. John’s University and Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. She is a senior assistant public defender in New Britain.
  • Scott M. Jones, 55, of Hamden. Jones graduated from the University of Connecticut and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is a public defender in New Haven. 
  • Tara Knight, 56, of New Haven. Knight graduated from Fairfield University and Suffolk University Law School. She is founding partner at Knight & Cerritelli and past president of  the Connecticut Criminal Defense Attorneys Association. 
  • Elizabeth Leaming, 54, of Hebron. Leaming graduated from Colgate University and Catholic University Columbus School of Law. She is a supervisory assistant state’s attorney in Windham.
  • Erik T. Lohr, 52, of Granby. Lohr graduated from Thomas A. Edison State College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is chief of the Civil Litigation Division within the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office. 
  • Christine Perra Rapillo, 56, of Cheshire. Perra Rapillo graduated from Wheaton College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. She has been chief public defender since 2017.
  • Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe, 41, of Hamden. Phoenix-Sharpe graduated from Florida A&M University with a B.S. and M.B.A. and from Pace University School of Law. She is general counsel to Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and a former deputy corporation counsel for New Haven. 
  • Charles Reed, 58, of Hamden. Reed graduated from Northwestern University and Notre Dame Law School. He is managing partner at Loughlin FitzGerald and former president of the New Haven County Bar Association. 
  • Mary Elizabeth Reid, 54, of Stamford. Reid graduated from the University of Massachusetts and Quinnipiac School of Law. She is the supervisory assistant public defender in Norwalk.
  • John F. Riley, 58, of Hamden. Riley graduated from the University of Connecticut and obtained his law degree from the University of Bridgeport. He is a trial attorney with Moore, O’Brien and Foti in Middlebury.
  • Amir Shaikh, 44, of Tolland. Shaikh graduated from Georgetown University and American University, Washington College of Law. He is a partner at Kaufmann & Shaikh.
  • Kevin M. Shay, 47, of Old Saybrook. Shay graduated from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is a senior assistant state’s attorney in Middletown and a special assistant U.S. attorney.
  • Neeta Vatti, 53, of Cheshire. Vatti graduated from the University of Connecticut and Albany Law School. She is legal counsel and policy analyst for Connecticut Senate Democrats.
  • Joseph Vizcarrondo III, 43, of Wilton. Vizcarrondo graduated from Wesleyan University and Columbia Law School. He is an assistant U.S. attorney in Connecticut.
  • Matthew Weiner, 43, of Hartford. Weiner graduated from Amherst College and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is a prosecutor in the appellate bureau of the Chief State’s Attorney’s office.

Lamont also announced two lawyers as family court magistrates:

  • Michael C. Daley, 64, of Farmington. Daley graduated from Trinity College and Western New England University School of Law.
  • Ramona Mercado-Espinoza, 64, of West Hartford. Mercado-Espinoza graduated from Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF