Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Thursday nominated state Supreme Court Justice Raheem L. Mullins to become the next chief justice, calling him a fair, sensible and empathetic jurist with experience serving in all three levels of the state court system.
If confirmed by the General Assembly next year, Mullins will replace retiring Chief Justice Richard A. Robinson, the first Black chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Mullins would be the second.
Lamont said he was optimistic of bipartisan legislative support for Mullins, who has been serving as an associate justice since 2017. Mullins was the youngest person ever appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court at the time. Now 46, he has participated in more than 150 cases and authored about 70 majority opinions while on the high court.
Mullins previously served on the Connecticut Appellate Court from 2014 to 2017 and the Connecticut Superior Court from 2012 to 2014.
“I think a lot of people know Raheem, knows his background, knows he’s got the legal chops to get the job done, knows that he’s been on the Supreme Court for seven years plus now (and) knows what he’s doing,” Lamont said. “And I think that earned a very positive response on both sides of the aisle.”
State Sen. John Kissel, the top Senate Republican on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, called Mullins “a terrific selection for chief justice” in a written statement.
Mullins said he was honored by the nomination and recognized the gravity of the job. Besides serving as a justice on the court, the chief justice is the head of the judicial branch of state government in Connecticut and oversees administration of the state’s courts.
He cited former Justice Lubbie Harper Jr. and Robinson as his legal mentors, noting how the court system will miss Robinson’s leadership and guidance. Mullins then joked how he would personally miss his long conversations with Robinson, “despite the massive, massive age difference between us.”
Mullins said in a written statement that he will work to enhance the court system’s “accessibility, efficiency, fairness, and responsiveness to the needs of the diverse communities we serve.”
Born in Middletown, Connecticut, Mullins earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and earned a law degree from the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. He clerked on the Massachusetts Appeals Court from 2004 to 2005, before being admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar and the Connecticut bar.
Before becoming a judge, Mullins served as an assistant state’s attorney in the Appellate Bureau of the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice. He also served as an assistant attorney general in the Child Protection Division of the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office.
The General Assembly convenes Jan. 8, 2025. With Robinson scheduled to retire, effective Sept. 6, Lamont said a member of the Connecticut Appellate Court will fill in as needed. He said he expects to nominate a new justice this fall or early next year.