Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is nominating 15 jurists to fill vacancies as judges on the Connecticut Superior Court.
This is the first class of Superior Court nominations made by Governor Lamont, who took office in January 2019. The most recent class was approved in 2018 under the prior administration. State statutes authorize 185 judges on that court, and 50 of those positions are currently vacant.
“I am proud today to announce one of the most diverse classes of judicial nominations in our state’s history,” Governor Lamont said. “This class of women and men bring with them a diverse background of experience and qualifications that meet the high standards that the residents of Connecticut deserve to have serving in leadership positions in the court system.”
The Superior Court nominees include:
- Linda Allard, 60, of West Hartford: Allard is currently a staff attorney with Greater Hartford Legal Aid, where she practices family law and represents victims of domestic violence. Allard worked for more than a decade as a partnership attorney, representing victims as part of a statewide legal assistance initiative funded by the federal Office on Violence Against Women. She is the lead attorney for the Greater Hartford Legal Aid/Hartford HealthCare Medical-Legal Partnership, providing free legal advice to low-income patients. She earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University, and her Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School.
- John Cirello, 50, of New Haven: Cirello is currently a founding partner of Cirello & Vessicchio, LLC, where he has worked since 2004. His general practice includes criminal defense, civil litigation, business law, housing law, and probate matters. He earned his undergraduate degree from Bryant College, and his Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.
- William Clark, 51, of New Haven: Clark is a former law partner at the law firm Berchem, Devlin and Moses in Milford. He also practiced law at Lynch, Traub, Keefe and Errante in New Haven. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Waterbury Public Schools, where he is responsible for managing the Board of Education’s non-curricular departments and handling a wide variety of fiscal and legal matters for the school system, including employment and collective bargaining matters, business transactions, contracts and negotiations, regulatory compliance, and education law. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer for New Haven Public Schools. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and his Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.
- Michael Gustafson, 59, of West Hartford: Gustafson is currently an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, where he has served since 1997 and specializes in violent crime prosecutions. He is also the office’s Project Safe Neighborhood Coordinator. Previously, he served as First Assistant United States Attorney and Chief of the Criminal Division. He earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
- H. Gordon Hall, 66, of New Haven: Hall is currently an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, where he has served since 1989. Since 1992, he has worked in the office’s criminal division. He is responsible for supervising investigations and prosecutions of federal laws. Prior to working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hall engaged in the general practice of law with the Hartford law firm of Sorokin and Sorokin, worked as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New Haven, and served as counsel to the Connecticut Attorney General. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
- Kimberly Massicotte, 59, of Burlington: Massicotte is currently Special Counsel for Opioid Litigation in the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, where she has worked for more than 30 years. In this position, she is responsible for leading the state’s litigation efforts against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and other responsible parties. Previously, she served as the Associate Attorney General for Litigation under Attorney General George Jepsen, supervising all litigation within the Office of the Attorney General. Prior to that, she served as Department Head of the Office’s Environment Department. She earned her undergraduate degree from St. Joseph’s College, and her Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law.
- Maximino Medina, Jr., 62, Bridgeport: Medina is a partner at Zeldes, Needle & Cooper, PC, in Bridgeport, where he has worked since 1984, concentrating in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial law, both litigation and transactional. Medina is fluent in Spanish and has provided extensive pro bono services to moderate and low-income families. He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University, and his Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law.
- Ndidi Moses, 43, of Seymour: Moses is currently an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, where she has worked since 2008. In 2010, she became the Office’s Civil Rights Coordinator. Prior to joining that office, she worked as an associate at Robinson & Cole, LLP, and served as a law clerk in the Connecticut Appellate Court for Judge Thomas A. Bishop. Moses also previously served as president of the Connecticut Bar Association and the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association. She earned her undergraduate degree and M.A. from Pennsylvania State University, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
- Gladys Idelis Nieves, 49, of New Haven: Nieves is currently a Family Support Magistrate in the Connecticut Judicial Branch, where she has served since 2014. Immediately prior to being appointed to that position, she worked in the Law Offices of Gladys I. Nieves, serving as sole proprietor and representing parents and children involved in child abuse and neglect proceedings, including termination of parental rights. Prior to that, she served as a Senior Staff Attorney for the Center for Children’s Advocacy in Hartford, and also worked as an attorney for the Legal Aid Society in the South Bronx. She earned her undergraduate degree from Yale University, and her Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law.
- Edward O’Hanlan, 64, of Old Lyme: O’Hanlan is currently a partner at Robinson & Cole, LLP, where he has worked since 2001 on a variety of land use matters, from administrative applications and appeals to complex real property litigation. A retired U.S. Navy captain with 24 years of active and reserve service, O’Hanlan serves on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center, and also does pro bono work with the organization, helping veterans overcome legal barriers to housing, healthcare, employment, and benefits. He earned his undergraduate degree from Hampden-Sydney College, and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.
- Angelica Papastavros, 51, of Killingworth: Papastavros is currently an Assistant Public Defender for the New Haven Judicial District, where she has served since 2014. Previously, she worked in private practice for 18 years, specializing in criminal defense. She has spent the majority of her career as a criminal defense attorney, representing individuals charged with serious crimes in trial and post-conviction proceedings. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Bridgeport, and her Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.
- Chris Pelosi, 55, of Berlin: Pelosi is currently a Senior Assistant State’s Attorney assigned to the Judicial District of Hartford, where he has served since 1999. In that role, he handles serious felony cases from arraignment to disposition. Before practicing law, Pelosi served as a Probation Officer in the Danbury and Waterbury Judicial Districts. He earned his undergraduate degree from Assumption College, and his Juris Doctor degree from the Quinnipiac University School of Law.
- Carletha Texidor, 43, of Southington: Texidor is currently an Assistant Attorney General in the Employment Rights department of the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, where she has served since 2014. Previously, she engaged in private practice in New York City. She also served as counsel for the New York City Department of Education. Before practicing law, she worked as a corrections officer in England. She is a graduate of Lewisham College and the University of Greenwich in England.
- Jessica Torres Shlatz, 48, of West Hartford: Torres Shlatz is currently an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Safety department of the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, where she has served for the last 15 years. She previously served in that office’s Child Protection department. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, she served as an Assistant State’s Attorney in both the adult and juvenile courts. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut, and her Juris Doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law.
- Carla Nascimento Zahner, 41, of West Hartford: Zahner is currently a partner at Louden, Katz and McGrath, LLC, where she practices family law. She began her legal career working in the insurance industry and subsequently became an attorney for the Child Protection Commission, where she represented indigent parents and children who were the subject of investigations by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. She earned her undergraduate degree from Trinity College, and her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.
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