Joette Katz

American judge (born 1953)

Joette Katz (born February 3, 1953) is an American attorney and a partner at the law firm Shipman & Goodwin LLP . She was an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court , where she also served as the administrative judge for the state appellate system. Later, she served as a Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families . In various roles during her career she has had an impact on issues of state and national importance, such as: criminal law ,

capital punishment , civil rights and the right to education , eminent domain , same-sex marriage ,

LGBTQ rights ,

sexual assault , sex trafficking ,

and transitioning children in state care from institutions to families.

Early life and family

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Katz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York . Her parents were Harry and Sayre Katz. She lives in Fairfield, Connecticut , and is married to Philip Rubin , CEO emeritus of Haskins Laboratories and a former White House science advisor . They have two children: Jason Rubin and Samantha Katz .

Education and legal training

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Katz went to high school at the Berkeley Institute in Brooklyn (now known as the Berkeley Carroll School ). She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating cum laude, in 1974 from Brandeis University , and her J.D. degree, graduating cum laude, from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1977.

Early professional career

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Katz started her professional career in 1977 as an attorney at the law firm of Winnick, Vine and Welch (now Winnick, Vine, Welch & Teodosio ) in Shelton, Connecticut . From 1978 to 1981, she was an assistant public defender in the appellate unit of the office of the Chief Public Defender in New Haven, Connecticut . From 1981 to 1983, she was an assistant public defender in the trial unit in Bridgeport, Connecticut . She served as Chief of Legal Services for the Office of the Chief Public Defender from 1983 to 1989 and was the first woman to serve in this role in Connecticut.

Judicial career

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Katz was nominated for the Superior Court bench by Gov. William A. O'Neill in 1989. She was elevated to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. in 1992. Her appointment at age 39 made her, at the time, the youngest justice ever appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court . She was reappointed by Gov. John G. Rowland in 2001 and Gov. M. Jodi Rell in 2009. She was the first public defender to serve on the Connecticut Supreme Court and the second woman to serve on the court after Justice Ellen Ash Peters . From 2006 until her resignation on January 5, 2011, she also served as the administrative judge for the state appellate system, a position she had previously held from 1994 to 2000. She was the first woman to serve in this position.

Katz in 2009

Notable cases and opinions

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During her 18+ years as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, Justice Katz sat on approximately 2,500 cases and authored nearly 500 opinions. Some notable and/or controversial opinions and cases include:

• Sheff v. O'Neill, 238 Conn. 1, 678 A.2d 1267 (1996). Sheff v. O'Neill is a landmark 1996 Connecticut Supreme Court decision regarding civil rights and the right to education . The Court ruled that the state had an affirmative obligation to provide Connecticut's schoolchildren with a substantially equal educational opportunity and that this constitutionally guaranteed right encompasses access to a public education that is not substantially and materially impaired by racial and ethnic isolation. This was a split 4-3 decision which was authored by Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters . She was joined in the majority opinion by Justice Robert Berdon, Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr. , and Justice Joette Katz. Justice David Borden authored the dissent, with Justices Robert Callahan and Richard Palmer concurring with the dissent.
• State v. Johnson, 253 Conn. 1, 751 A.2d 298 (2000). Katz authored the majority opinion in this controversial case. The decision said that the shooting of a state trooper did not meet the statutory standard for "especially cruel or heinous." As a result, the death penalty was overturned and the sentence was eventually changed to life without parole. While the Court claimed it was following the intent of the legislature, this decision and a subsequent death penalty decision State v. Courchesne, led the General Assembly to pass a "plain meaning" statute regarding statutory interpretation.
• Kelo v. New London, 268 Conn. 1 (2004). Justice Katz joined the minority in the Kelo v. New London case heard by the Connecticut Supreme Court (2004), which was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court . In the Connecticut case, the majority sided with the city in an en banc 4-3 decision, with the opinion authored by Justice Norcott and joined by Justices Borden, Palmer, and Vertefeuille. The dissent was authored by Justice Zarella (joined by Justices Sullivan and Katz). The U.S. Supre

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