Connecticut Supreme Court Associate Justice Richard Palmer. Courtesy photo.

Known as a justice who cannot be pigeonholed ideologically and who will ask the tough and pointed questions during oral arguments, Associate Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer has served longer than any other state jurist in modern times.

During his nearly 26 years on Connecticut's highest court, Palmer has authored—either in the majority or dissenting—some of the court's most well-publicized, controversial and important rulings. And as most of those votes were 4-3, Palmer's vote was generally seen as the swing vote.

A Wethersfield native and West Hartford resident, the 68-year-old jurist wrote the majority opinion in the 4-3 vote in 2008 to legalize gay marriage in the Nutmeg State. After voting repeatedly, upward of a dozen times, to uphold the state's death penalty, he wrote the majority 4-3 opinion in 2015 banning it. That change was not necessarily a change of heart on the issue, Palmer said, but rather due to a change in the statutes related to the death penalty. He also joined the dissent in a 4-3 vote in the Sheff v. O'Neill school segregation case. Palmer came down on the side of the state, while the plaintiffs argued Hartford schools were racially segregated and that the state had an obligation to desegregate.

Palmer, who has served under six chief justices during his time of service, said he listened to the arguments on both sides of the same-sex equality case and was persuaded that gays and lesbians who wanted to get married should have the same right to do so as heterosexuals.

“I reached that conclusion having determined that gays and lesbians are entitled to heightened protection under the equal protection clause of the state Constitution,” he said.

'Intellectual Integrity'

And for observers who think they know in advance how Palmer will decide a case, think again, said longtime friend Stan Twardy.

“He is consistent in how he applies the law. You just can't fit him into a category,” said Twardy, a Day Pitney partner who has known Palmer close to 50 years, since their days at Trinity College. “He looks at the cases before him based upon existing law, and he applies the law to the case. His legacy will be one of intellectual integrity.”

Palmer said he always had a fascination with U.S. law and its system of government. He decided in college, where he majored in political science, that choosing law as a profession “seemed like a natural thing to do.”

Palmer received his law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law with high honors in 1977. Before that, he received his bachelor's degree from Hartford's Trinity College, where he captained the tennis and squash teams and was named a first-team All American in squash. He then went to work soon after as an associate with Shipman & Goodwin. He served twice as an assistant U.S. attorney for Connecticut and also was in private practice. He was sworn in as associate justice of the Supreme Court in March 1993, but must step down in May 2020 when he hits the mandatory retirement age of 70.

During his tenure, the court saw rampant change, especially with racial and ethnic diversity on the bench. Among the changes: Richard Robinson rose to chief justice, becoming the first black judge in the state to hold that post. The past few years also marked the most upheaval on the bench, as four justices joined the court, marking the largest infusion of new jurists since the early 1990s.

That, Palmer said, is a good thing.

“Having young judges reinvigorates the court,” he said. “All new judges tend to be enthusiastic and engaged, and they bring new perspectives to the court and that's good.”

Palmer said the diversity, both ethnically and by gender on the seven-person court, adds to the diversity of thought and points of view.

“It's essential that our court system reflect the community to the extent it possibly can,” he said.

The court, led by Robinson, “is among the most collegial I have served on,” Palmer emphasized. “The members of this court get along with each other exceptionally well and are extremely respectful of each other. They fully recognize that disagreements among judges is the norm.” And he said the chief judge “consistently strives to make the court a strong and collegial institution.”

But now, with a little more than a year to go before he must step down from the court, Palmer said he does not have a problem with mandatory retirement.

“I fully understand why there is an age limit,” he said. “It affords other people the opportunity to be on the court.”

As for his future, the judge said, “there is a real prospect” he will stay on as a trial referee, but he has not ruled out other options.

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