Richard N. Palmer (born May 27, 1950) is a former Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

Richard Palmer
Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
Acting
In office
February 5, 2018 – May 3, 2018
Preceded byChase T. Rogers
Succeeded byRichard A. Robinson
Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
In office
March 7, 1993 – May 27, 2020
Succeeded byChristine Keller
United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut
In office
1991–1991
Appointed byGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byStanley Twardy
Succeeded byAlbert S. Dabrowski
Personal details
Born (1950-05-27) May 27, 1950 (age 74)
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationTrinity College, Connecticut (BA)
University of Connecticut, Hartford (JD)

Palmer was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Palmer received his Bachelor of Arts Phi Beta Kappa, from Trinity College in Hartford in 1972. He went on to receive the Juris Doctor with high honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law, in 1977.[1]

Following law school, Palmer clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman, then of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. After practicing privately with Shipman & Goodwin, Palmer was an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, interrupted briefly by a stint in the firm of Chatigny and Palmer. In 1991, Palmer served as the United States Attorney in Connecticut, and subsequently became Chief State's Attorney for the State of Connecticut. On March 17, 1993, he was sworn in as an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

On October 10, 2008, Palmer wrote the majority opinion for the Connecticut Supreme Court case Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health, granting marriage rights to same-sex couples in Connecticut, striking down a law passed in 2005 granting civil union rights to them.[2]

Palmer retired on May 27, 2020, upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Biographies of Supreme Court Justices". 2010 State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  2. ^ "Conn. court overturns same-sex marriage ban". NBC News news services updated 10/10/2008 3:14:33 PM ET. Retrieved 2011-01-01.
  3. ^ Edmund H. Mahony (May 24, 2020). "Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard N. Palmer retiring after 27-year career that included decisions on death penalty, same-sex marriage". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
Legal offices
Preceded by Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
1993–2020
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court
Acting

2018
Succeeded by