Connecticut Legal Overview The Connecticut Supreme Court is the highest court in the state, with one Chief Justice and six associate justices appointed by the Governor and ratified by the General Assembly. Appeals are handled by the Appellate Court, which has nine judges. The sole trial court is the Superior Court, divided into four principal divisions to handle civil, criminal, housing and family matters across 13 state judicial districts. The Superior Court has general jurisdiction over everything but probate. Probate issues are handled by the Probate Court whose judges need not be lawyers. Probate appeals are taken up by the Superior Court.
Top metro Connecticut areas for Legal Issues: Hartford-West Hartford-Willimantic
1. Connecticut enacted a law in April 2012, repealing capital punishment to become the 17th U.S. state that has no death penalty. Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) was a landmark case wherein the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Connecticut law prohibiting the use of contraceptives, citing the right to privacy. This paved the way for Roe v. Wade (1973), which preserved a woman's right to choice regarding abortions, where the U.S. Supreme Court again cited the right to privacy. Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940) similarly resulted in the protection of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and religious expression. 2. Law enforcement officials say a Connecticut group home worker has been arrested after a video surfaced with evidence her harming a patient who has an intellectual disorder, whipping the patient with a belt and dragging the patient by her hair. 3. The father of the three children killed on Christmas morning in a house fire in Connecticut has oressed charges against the city, his ex-wife’s partner and many others who worked onn the home, saying they all played parts into turning it into a "firetrap."
Trending Connecticut Legal Topics: The Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary body founded in 1875. Attorneys licensed to practice law in Connecticut must pass the Bar exam, but membership of the CBA is not mandatory for the 20,500 odd lawyers in the state. The CBA provides a fee dispute arbitration process. Other complaints and grievances may be sent to the Statewide Bar Counsel's office in East Hartford. Complaints against judges and subsequent investigations and disciplinary actions come under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Review Council, which has been merged into the Office of Governmental Accountability as of July 1, 2011. |