Meet Judge Melanie Cradle, Whose Former Client Changed Her Life
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Melanie Cradle spoke Tuesday to the Connecticut Law Tribune about her early desire to become an immigration attorney, and the mentors who helped her along the way.
November 26, 2019 at 05:46 PM
4 minute read
With a deep desire to become an immigration lawyer, Melanie Cradle had an opportunity while in law school to work on a case that impacted her life forever.
While a senior at Seton Hall University School of Law in 1998, Cradle represented Cecelia Jeffrey, who served several years in prison for transporting drugs from her native Liberia to the United States. Cradle, with help from the law school's clinic, did a lot of asylum matters while in college. None meant more than the Jeffrey case. Those who know and work with the judge say it heralded the start of a career that showed she was on the path to becoming a caring, respected and valued member of the state's judiciary.
Cradle, now a New Haven Superior Court judge, had followed the saga of Jeffrey, and believed the federal Immigration and Naturalization Service had done an injustice in unlawfully holding her after her time was served.
"I was lead counsel in getting her released, and I was recognized for it," Cradle said. "I got to know her and her family, and I established, to this day, a close relationship with her."
The Jeffrey experience, Cradle said, "showed me that I had the drive, the ability and desire to make a difference in people's lives. That motivated me moving forward."
Cradle never became an immigration lawyer, primarily, she said, because of a lack of opportunities in law firms specializing in the type immigration law she wanted to practice. But with an emphasis on wanting to help people, Cradle said she did the next best thing: become a prosecutor.
After two years working for a general practice law firm in Hartford, Cradle began a 13-year stint as a prosecutor. She's been a Superior Court judge since 2013.
"I believe you can make a greater difference as a prosecutor," Cradle said. "Prosecutors can control charges, and decide whether or not to prosecute a case. You are in a better position to control or guide what happens to individuals."
The job of a lifetime, however, came when then-Gov. Dannel Malloy appointed Cradle to the Connecticut Superior Court.
"I enjoy so much of what I am doing now," said Cradle, who noted that mentorships along the way have made a world of difference in the type of judge she is.
Cradle, a Queens, New York, native who now lives in Durham, mentors judges as part of a program the state Judicial District put forward. She has mentored about eight judges in six years, and says it's a role she relishes.
The judges, who like Cradle all handle criminal matters, "have a lot of questions," Cradle said.
"I'd invite them to watch me on the bench, spend time with them at lunch, and check on how they are doing," she said. "I try to be a sounding board, and also want to make them feel as comfortable as they can in transitioning to be a judge."
'That kind of person'
Cradle herself has had several mentors, including former Connecticut Supreme Court Associate Justice Lubbie Harper Jr. and current Associate Justice Maria Araujo Kahn. The advice she got from both, Cradle said, made her not just a better judge, but a better person.
Kahn, who first met Cradle in 2013, said, "I was assigned her mentor, but she was so bright that she did not need one. She has excellent judgment, is a good listener and has excellent temperament. She's very calm. She was made to be a judge. She is that kind of person."
Echoing those sentiments was Harper, who told the Connecticut Law Tribune that his mentee "is highly analytical and principled."
"She firmly believes in treating everyone, regardless of their station in life, with dignity and respect," Harper said. "She is a rising star in our profession."
Related stories:
Justice Andrew McDonald Discusses Foiled Bid for Chief Judgeship
Judge Mark Taylor's Stint in Apartheid South Africa Led Him to Bench
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllPreparing for Change? These Leaders Have Already Done It. Plus, Managing Partner Survey Results
8 minute readA Conversation with NLJ Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Jeh Johnson
Trending Stories
- 1Trending Issues in Florida Construction Law That Attorneys Need to Be Aware Of
- 2The Importance of Judicial Elections
- 3Ephemeral Messaging Going Into 2025:The Messages May Vanish But Not The Preservation Obligations
- 4Decision of the Day: Trial Court's Sidestep of 'Batson' Deprived Defendant of Challenge to Jury Discrimination
- 5Is Your Law Firm Growing Fast Enough? Scale, Consolidation and Competition
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250