A candidate for Connecticut’s highest court withdrew her name from consideration Friday after state lawmakers raised questions about a letter she signed in 2017 endorsing Amy Coney Barrett for a job on the court federal appeal.
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont released a statement saying Sandra Slack Glover informed him of her decision to step down. His announcement came four days after his nominee, a federal prosecutor with no judicial experience, appeared at a confirmation of charges hearing before the Democratic-controlled Judiciary Committee. In an unusual move, the panel had abstained from voting on its confirmation.
Throughout the week, it grew increasingly doubtful that Glover had enough support to erase a vote from the committee, despite urgings from the Lamont administration.
“Attorney Sandra Slack Glover would have been an extraordinary Connecticut Supreme Court justice,” Lamont said in a written statement. “I stand by that, and I support her as a lawyer of experience, character and compassion, while respecting her decision today to withdraw from the review.
Emails and phone messages were left seeking comment from Glover. Lamont said he will consider other candidates who share his “values” and who are “committed to the principles of justice, equality and fairness under the law” in the coming months.
In January, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, also had to find a replacement for her nominee to head the state’s highest court after he was rejected by a panel of the State Senate. The vote came after weeks of criticism from progressive activists and union officials over the judge’s record.
Glover tried to assure Connecticut lawmakers that she wouldn’t have signed the 2017 letter had she known Barrett would later vote to overturn Roe v. Wade as a member of the United States Supreme Court.
Glover had said she wasn’t going to “demonize” Barrett, “but when I look at this letter now…I’m not comfortable with some of those statements anymore.
“But I also believed, clearly naively at this point, that there were guardrails,” she said, referring to the judges’ respect for legal precedent. “And I thought the lower court judges were under duress. I thought the Supreme Court was constrained. And I was wrong. And in hindsight and knowing what I know now, I shouldn’t have signed it.
Glover said she was a strong proponent of abortion rights, from both a woman’s and an attorney’s perspective. Besides his stance on Roe vs. Wade, lawmakers have questioned his lack of experience as a judge.
“Lawyer Sandra Slack Glover was thoroughly vetted by the Judiciary Committee and many members felt there were unanswered questions that put her confirmation at risk,” the rep said. Steve Staffstrom, D-Bridgeport, committee co-chair. “Although Attorney Glover is an experienced prosecutor and a talented lawyer, I respect her decision to remove her name from consideration to become a judge of our highest court.”