District of Connecticut Law Clerks Society
a society for current and recent law clerks for the united states district court for the district of connecticut
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Recent Posts
- Judge Underhill Asked to Determine if Cheerleading is a Sport
- Garber Seeking Attorney General Position
- Behind the Rise and Fall of Philadelphia’s Prison Population
- 4th Annual Investigating Computer Crimes in the 21st Century
- Judge Chatigny Nominated To Seat On U.S. 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals
- Court Asked to Reverse Ruling on State’s Campaign Program
- Campaign Finance Legislation Under Scrutiny
- Practices of Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office Under Review
- Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status
- Extensive Reshaping Possible In Federal Judiciary In Connecticut
Categories
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District Judges, in the News
June 22, 2010
Judge Underhill Asked to Determine if Cheerleading is a Sport
U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill is presiding over a case in which he needs to decide whether cheerleading can be counted as a sport in meeting gender-equity requirements at schools.
Five members of the Quinnipiac University volleyball team filed a lawsuit last year when, due to budgetary issues, the school chose to cut women’s volleyball over a competitive cheer squad. Judge Underhill agreed to make the lawsuit a class action for all current and future female athletes at Quinnipiac.
The case involves Title IX issues, the federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in athletics. Judge Underhill will need to decide whether Quinnipiac manipulates the size of its other teams’ rosters in order to improperly show compliance with this mandate. Last year, Underhill issued a temporary injunction preventing the school from disbanding the volleyball team based on the finding that the school was over-reporting athletic opportunities for its female athletes and under-reporting them for its men.
A lawyer for the plaintiff in the case said that the case is significant in that “this will be the first time a court has been asked to rule whether competitive cheer is a sport for Title IX purposes.” Judge Underhill recognized the competitive attributes of cheerleading and, in issuing his injunction, said that competitive cheer "although not presently an NCAA recognized sport or emerging sport, has all the necessary characteristics of a potentially valid competitive sport."
The trial began this week in the U.S. District Court in Bridgeport. For more information, see the Connecticut Post article here: http://www.ctpost.com/sports/article/Trial-in-Conn-to-find-if-cheerleading-is-sport-530408.php.
February 26, 2010
Judge Chatigny Nominated To Seat On U.S. 2nd Circuit Court Of Appeals
President Barack Obama has announced the nomination of Connecticut U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny to service on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. Chatigny, who sits in Hartford, was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, and grew up in upstate New York. He graduated from Brown University in 1973 and Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. After graduation, he served as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti in the Northern District of California; for Judge Cabranes, then sitting on the U.S. District Court in Connecticut; and for Judge Newman, who was on the 2nd Circuit. Chatigny worked for two years at Williams and Connolly in Washington, D.C., before opening his own practice in Connecticut in 1984. He was nominated as a federal judge for the District of Connecticut in May 1994 by President Bill Clinton and was the district's chief judge from 2003 to 2009.
January 5, 2010
Court Asked to Reverse Ruling on State’s Campaign Program
Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz urged the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill’s recent ruling that Connecticut's public campaign finance law is unconstitutional because, among other reasons, it discriminates against minor party political candidates. Secretary Bysiewwicz’ argument is that it is too late to change the financing rules for candidates with the gubernatorial primary coming up in August. She said that if the public funding is not made available, there won't be enough time for a candidate to raise the private money needed to run a campaign.
December 14, 2009
Campaign Finance Legislation Under Scrutiny
U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill ruled portions of Connecticut’s campaign finance reform law unconstitutional and an appeal by state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is being fast-tracked for oral arguments before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in January. Meanwhile, the areas of legislation that Judge Underhill ruled against are stayed until a final ruling. The parts of the legislation that Judge Underhill is concerned about are the additional requirements for minor parties to qualify for assistance, and a “trigger,” that would release additional funds for candidates being largely outspent by wealthy opponents.
On the national level, it is thought that justices will overturn 100 years of legal precedent that essentially eliminated direct corporate and union campaign financing. Connecticut is one of many states where the prohibition of direct corporate and union funds could be overturned in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, where the Supreme Court addressed the underlying question of whether corporations have a constitutional right to spend unlimited amounts of money on favored candidates. With the 2010 elections nearing, Connecticut needs to have a constitutionally sound law in place to address Judge Underhill’s concerns, as well as to have the ability to withstand the deluge of corporate funds, if the Supreme Court allows direct corporate spending on campaigns.
November 23, 2009
Practices of Connecticut State’s Attorney’s Office Under Review
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has demanded answers on accusations that low-income defendants are routinely denied arraignment and appointment of counsel at the state attorney’s office in Bantam Connecticut.
The case arises from the arrest of a man who claims that, while in court, he was denied his right to appear before a judge and enter a plea, and he was not informed that he was entitled to representation by a public defender.
On the recommendation of Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez, U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny dismissed the suit against state prosecutors on grounds that they are immunized against such suits as “officers of the court.” The prosecutors were defended by the office of state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. The Second Circuit upheld the dismissal and also concurred that equitable and injunctive relief was unavailable. However, in its Order, the Court expressed concern about what it called Attorney General Blumenthal's failure to address the suit's claims that low-income defendants are routinely denied the right to proper arraignment in court.
The Attorney General has until Dec. 12 to provide a detailed report on the measures that have been taken to address the questions and concerns regarding the practices of the state attorney's office in Bantam.
November 9, 2009
Lawsuit Granted Class Action Status
A 2007 lawsuit that alleges ATT violated state and federal wage and hour provisions was granted class action status on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall. The approval of class action status means that as many as 200 ATT employees could become a party to the lawsuit. Hall’s ruling came one week after hearing arguments by attorneys representing five current and former ATT employees who claim the company gave them manager titles in order to avoid having to pay them overtime. The lawsuit contends that despite being designated as managers, the plaintiffs weren’t given the responsibilities or duties consistent with a managerial position.
September 29, 2009
Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud
Federal prosecutors said that a Hartford man pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud before U.S. District Judge Janet B. Arterton in New Haven on Monday. The defendant faces up to 30 years in prison for trying to launder more than $150,000 in stolen money. Judge Arterton is scheduled to deliver defendant’s sentence on December 8.
September 10, 2009
Judge Dorsey Imposes Sentence In eBay Fraud Case
A New Haven man was sentenced to serve a year and a day in federal prison on charges that he used the Internet to solicit more than $200,000 from customers trying to buy cellular telephone equipment.
Senior U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey imposed the prison sentence and also ordered the Defendant to repay eBay the $237,257 it spent to reimburse its users for their losses.
The Defendant claimed to be overwhelmed with the success of his Internet sales business and unable to fill orders from over 1,000 customers who paid for equipment through eBay.
Federal prosecutors said Defendant used some of the money he collected from unfilled orders to pay for several trips and that defendant never intended to fulfill the orders.
September 9, 2009
Five Men Sentenced For Tax Evasion
Senior U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey imposed a sentence of two months in prison and a year of supervised release on five brothers for evading taxes on over $2 million that they skimmed from their chain of Dollar Dreams discount stores in Connecticut. The men were additionally ordered by Judge Dorsey to pay $10,000 fines each and, collectively, $1.2 million to the IRS in taxes, penalties and interest.
November 30, 2007
Terrorist Defendant Pleads, CT Case Continues
A key figure in the case of a former U.S. Navy signalman accused of supplying a terrorist cell with ship movement information pleaded guilty to attempting to buy grenades and set them off in a suburban Illinois shopping mall just three days before Christmas last year.
Although the guilty plea came a time zone away in federal court in Chicago, a related proceeding before U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz continued. Judge Kravitz is conducting an evidentiary hearing to determine if Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Reynolds and William Nardini will be allowed to introduce evidence of other uncharged terrorist attacks during their trial of Abu-Jihaad, formerly known as Paul Hall, 31, of Phoenix.
A detailed account of the case be found on the Connecticut Post website.
September 5, 2007
Judge Kravitz Denies Injunction in School Blog Case
The Honorable Mark R. Kravitz made headlines recently when he denied an injunction to a student who claimed to have been penalized by her school for comments made on her person blog. The case, pending in the District of Connecticut, is Doninger v. Niehoff. In a detailed opinion, Judge Kravitz held that the plaintiff had not shown substantial likelihood that she would succeed in challenging the constitutional validity of her punishment. The 34-Page Opinion can be viewed here: Download file.
Additionally, several news sources have covered this case, including Newsday, the Hartford Courant and the Bristol Press.
February 13, 2007
"Toilet Bomber" Pleads Guilty before Judge Hall
Yesterday, Bruce Forest pleaded guilty in a hearing before Judge Janet C. Hall with respect to charges that Mr. Forest had utilized explosives to blow up a portable toilet located in Weston, Connecticut. Mr. Forest's sentencing is scheduled for May 3, 2007, before Judge Hall. The Stamford Advocate reports that Mr. Forest could face between 5 and 20 years in prison as a result of his guilty plea. For the complete story, see this article posted at the stamfordadvocate.com this morning.
January 25, 2007
Judge Squatrito Honored at Recent Portrait Unveiling
Judge Squatrito was recently honored as his portrait was unveiled at the Federal Courthouse in Hartford. Judge Squatrito was appointed to the bench in 1994 and has recently attained Senior Status in our District. Judge Squatrito was recognized by his peers and former law clerks for his work ethic, legal abilities, as well as the important impact he has had on their careers and lives.
Town of Montville Ordered to Post Bond in Rand-Whitney Litigation
Rand-Whitney Containerboard, Corp. and the Town of Montville have been involved in a long-term struggle related to the quality of water supplied by the Town to Rand-Whitney, and the impact that has on the company's paper-making process. Judge Fitzsimmons, who is overseeing this dispute, recently issued an Order directing the Town to post a bond in the amount of $16 million in the event the Town pursues an appeal of the underlying District Court judgment. Interest is currently accruing on the underlying judgment against the Town at a rate of $50,000 per month. For a fuller account of this story, please see this article posted on theday.com this morning.
November 9, 2006
CT Woman Sentenced for Tax Fraud
The Honorable Alfred V. Covello made the news today with respect to his sentencing of a Connecticut woman for tax fraud. Judge Covello sentenced the chief operating officer of a Rocky Hill employment agency, Kathryn Clark Melanson, 48, of Old Saybrook, after she pleaded guilty to filing a false claim with the IRS, which resulted in her receiving $92,425 in tax refunds she was not entitled to from 1999 to 2001. For a more detailed version of the story, see this article from the Hartford Courant.
November 1, 2006
Third Forbes Trial Results in Conviction
In a case presided over by our own District Judge Alan H. Nevas, Walter Forbes, the former chairman of Cendant Corp., was convicted at a third criminal trial for his involvement in an accounting fraud that caused Cendant's market value to drop $14 billion in one day in 1998.
The first two trials resulted in hung juries before Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford, and the matter was thereafter reassigned to Judge Nevas in Bridgeport. Jurors in Bridgeport convicted Forbes, 63, of conspiracy and two counts of false reporting. He was acquitted of securities fraud.
Judge Nevas set sentencing for Jan. 17, 2007, and raised Forbes's bail to $1.2 million from $1 million. For a more detailed account of the case, see the article on Bloomberg.com.
October 31, 2006
Judge Fitzsimmons Enters $13.5 Million Judgment Against Connecticut Town
After 10 years of litigation in our District -- which included 2 several-week jury trials and a set-aside verdict by the Court -- Judge Holly B. Fitzsimmons, who sits in Bridgeport, has entered a $13.5 million judgment against the Town of Montville and in favor of Rand-Whitney Containerboard, after Rand-Whitney proved to a jury that the water sent to it by the town was of such poor quality that it violated the company's contract with the town. The judgment includes $10 million in damages and approximately $3.5 million in attorneys' fees and costs.
For more information, see the article that appeared in the New London Day this week.
To view the Court's decision on Fees and Costs, click here.
It is also worth noting that Judge Fitzsimmons isn't the only Judge in our District who has worked hard on this case. Judge William I. Garfinkel has spent a significant amount of time working with the parties on a settlement that will allows them to coexist peacefully in the Town of Montville.
Advisory Committee: Alyssa Esposito, Law Clerk to Judge Fitzsimmons; Krishna Patel, Assistant United States Attorney
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