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58-922: As of September 30, 2024, the justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court are: Justices must retire upon reaching the age of 70. They may continue to hear cases as Judge Trial Referees in the Superior Court or the Appellate Court. Justices may assume Senior Status before attaining age 70 and continue to sit with the Supreme Court, as needed. Multiple justices have availed themselves of this option. For example, Justice Ellen Ash Peters took senior status in 1996, continuing to sit until 2000 and Justice Angelo Santaniello assumed senior status in 1987 and continued to sit as needed until 1994. Justice Armentano assumed senior status in 1983 but continued to sit with

116-614: A J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1975. Following admission to the Connecticut bar in 1976, Harper spent more than twenty years in private practice. He represented New Haven's board of education in matters concerning labor relations and education law and served as a campaign chair for John DeStefano Jr. in the 1990s. Harper received judicial appointments from two Republican and one Democratic governors. On May 22, 1997, Governor John G. Rowland nominated Harper to

174-506: A bill of rights or similar document. They are also defined in international human rights instruments , such as the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . Civil and political rights need not be codified to be protected. However, most democracies worldwide do have formal written guarantees of civil and political rights. Civil rights are considered to be natural rights . Thomas Jefferson wrote in his A Summary View of

232-455: A constitutional amendment creating the intermediate Connecticut Appellate Court . The court's ruling on April 19, 1977, in Horton v. Meskill (172 Conn. 615) held that the right to education in Connecticut is so basic and fundamental that any intrusion on the right must be strictly scrutinized. The Court said that public school students are entitled to equal enjoyment of the right to education, and

290-524: A role. Implied or unenumerated rights are rights that courts may find to exist even though not expressly guaranteed by written law or custom; one example is the right to privacy in the United States , and the Ninth Amendment explicitly shows that other rights are also protected. The United States Declaration of Independence states that people have unalienable rights including "Life, Liberty, and

348-476: A statement on the suit and its status. In State v. Santiago , 318 Conn. 1, the Connecticut Supreme Court held that, after the state legislature had abolished capital punishment for prospective cases in 2012, imposition of the death penalty for already convicted and sentenced prisoners was unconstitutional under the Constitution of Connecticut as "excessive and disproportionate punishment". Justice Palmer authored

406-628: A suit brought by the Boston Globe , Hartford Courant , The New York Times and The Washington Post in 2002. On October 5, 2009, the United States Supreme Court rejected a request by the diocese for the court to stay or reconsider the Connecticut opinion ordering the release of the documents. The documents were released at the Waterbury Superior Courthouse on December 1, 2009. The diocese has provided background and

464-411: A system of school financing that relied on local property tax revenues without regard to disparities in town wealth and that lacked significant equalizing state support was unconstitutional. It could not pass the test of strict judicial scrutiny. The Court also held that the creation of a constitutional system for education financing is a job for the legislature and not the courts. Chief Justice House wrote

522-402: Is a landmark Connecticut Supreme Court decision ( Sheff v. O'Neill , 238 Conn. 1, 678 A.2d 1267) regarding civil rights and the right to education . On July 9, 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that the state had an affirmative obligation to provide Connecticut's school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity and that this constitutionally guaranteed right encompasses

580-509: Is a translation of Latin jus civis (right of the citizen). Roman citizens could be either free ( libertas ) or servile ( servitus ), but they all had rights in law. After the Edict of Milan in 313, these rights included the freedom of religion; however, in 380, the Edict of Thessalonica required all subjects of the Roman Empire to profess Nicene Christianity. Roman legal doctrine was lost during

638-506: Is a well-known non-profit organization that helps to preserve freedom of speech and works to change policy. Another organization is the NAACP , founded in 1909, which focuses on protecting the civil rights of minorities. The NRA is a civil rights group founded in 1871 that primarily focuses on protecting the right to bear arms. These organizations serve a variety of causes, one being the AFL–CIO , which

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696-656: Is an American lawyer and judge who was the third African American to become a justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court , serving from 2011 through 2012. While seconded to the court in 2008, he cast the deciding vote in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health , a ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut . Harper also served as a justice on the Connecticut Superior Court (1997–2005) and on

754-454: Is studied as a continuation of the expansion of governments' power to seize property through eminent domain , although the widespread negative popular reaction has spurred a backlash in which many state legislatures have curtailed their eminent domain power. On Monday, June 21, 2004, Gov. John G. Rowland announced his resignation amid allegations of graft and a movement to impeach him for accepting gifts. The resignation came several days after

812-402: Is that if individuals have fewer political rights than are they more likely to commit political violence such as in countries where individual rights are highly restricted. That is why it is important for countries to protect the political rights of all citizens including minority groups. This extends to racial, ethnic, tribal, and religious groups. By granting them the same rights it helps reduce

870-583: The Connecticut Appellate Court (2005–2011). Born in 1942 in New Haven, Connecticut , to parents who had moved northwards from North Carolina , Harper was raised by his mother and grandmother and grew up in the Newhallville and Dixwell inner-city neighborhoods. He attended local public schools and became a star basketball player at Wilbur L. Cross High School , graduating in 1961. Harper

928-404: The Connecticut Superior Court , and he took the oath office on July 7, 1997. On January 5, 2005, Governor Jodi Rell nominated Harper to the Connecticut Appellate Court . He took the oath of office on January 26, 2005. Harper wrote 224 appellate opinions during the ensuing years. While standing in for recused Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers on the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2008, Harper cast

986-531: The English Bill of Rights in 1689. It was one of the influences drawn on by George Mason and James Madison when drafting the Virginia Declaration of Rights in 1776. The Virginia declaration heavily influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights (1789). The removal by legislation of a civil right constitutes a "civil disability". In early 19th century Britain, the phrase "civil rights" most commonly referred to

1044-588: The right to a fair trial , (in some countries) the right to keep and bear arms , freedom of religion , freedom from discrimination , and voting rights . They were pioneered in the seventeenth and eighteenth-century during the Age of Enlightenment . Political theories associated with the English, American, and French revolutions were codified in the English Bill of Rights in 1689 (a restatement of Rights of Englishmen , some dating back to Magna Carta in 1215) and more fully in

1102-427: The right to assemble , the right to petition , the right of self-defense , and the right to vote . These rights also must follow the legal norm as in they must have the force of law and fit into the system of administrative justice. A key feature in modern society is that the more a state can guarantee political rights of citizens the better the states relations are with its citizens. Civil and political rights form

1160-660: The 4–3 majority opinion holding the death penalty as violating the state constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment while the dissenters (Chief Justice Rogers and Justices Zarella and Espinosa) charged the majority with substituting its own judgment for that of the legislature, which in 2012 had declined retrospective effect of Public Act 12-5 (P.A. 12-5), An Act Revising the Penalty for Capital Felonies. 41°45′45″N 72°40′59″W  /  41.762525°N 72.682972°W  / 41.762525; -72.682972 Lubbie Harper Jr. Lubbie Harper Jr. (born 1942)

1218-660: The Appellate or Superior Court may be called to sit with the Supreme Court. One of the most recent instances of a lower court judge being called to "pinch-hit" was Judge Thomas Bishop of the Appellate Court in Bysiewicz v. Dinardo .Then-Appellate Court Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. (who later served as a Justice of the Supreme Court) also sat with the Supreme Court in the landmark case of Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health . Judge Francis X. Hennessy also frequently served by designation on

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1276-517: The Connecticut Constitution established an independent judiciary, with the Supreme Court of Errors as the state's highest court. (The words "of Errors" were deleted in 1965). The creation of an independent judiciary established the third branch of government, which is responsible for interpreting the laws enacted by the legislative branch of government. In 1982, in response to an overwhelming Supreme Court docket, Connecticut's voters approved

1334-566: The Council (or upper chamber of the General Assembly), and, in 1794, the Governor. In 1806, the number of Superior Court judges was increased from five to nine and those judges, sitting together, constituted the Supreme Court, replacing the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Council Members. The General Assembly, however, retained the power to overturn the court's rulings. Twelve years later, in 1818,

1392-548: The Court as needed. Chief Justice Callahan assumed senior status in 1999 but served for approximately another year as a Senior Justice. Chief Justice Sullivan assumed senior status in 2006 but continued to sit until 2009. Justice Vertefeuille assumed senior status in March 2022 and remained active with the Court until she turned 70 in October 2022. In the event of a recusal or absence, a judge of

1450-456: The Court ruled on June 18 that the state House Select Committee of Inquiry, which was weighing whether to impeach Rowland, could compel the governor to testify. Those joining the majority in this opinion ( Office of the Governor v. Selected Committee of Inquiry to Recommend Whether Sufficient Grounds Exist for the House of Representatives to Impeach Governor John G. Rowland Pursuant to Article Ninth of

1508-545: The Court. Notable former justices include: The Supreme Court of Connecticut was created in 1784. Prior to this, the power to review lower court rulings was vested in the General Assembly , which determined appeals by examining trial court records. Even after its creation, the Court was not completely independent of the executive and legislative branches, since its members included the Lieutenant Governor, members of

1566-880: The French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789 and the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. They were enshrined at the global level and given status in international law first by Articles 3 to 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights . In Europe, they were enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953. There are current organizations that exist to protect people's civil and political rights in case they are infringed upon. The ACLU , founded in 1920,

1624-514: The Middle Ages, but claims of universal rights could still be made based on Christian doctrine. According to the leaders of Kett's Rebellion (1549), "all bond men may be made free, for God made all free with his precious blood-shedding." In the 17th century, English common law judge Sir Edward Coke revived the idea of rights based on citizenship by arguing that Englishmen had historically enjoyed such rights . The Parliament of England adopted

1682-689: The New Haven Legal Assistance Association’s Board of Directors. He served as a clinical tutor at Yale Law School and on the advisory board for the legal studies program at the University of New Haven. He also sat on the university's board of governors. He served as a board member of many civic and professional organizations, including the Connecticut Judges Association, the UConn School of Law Alumni Association,

1740-502: The Rights of British America that "a free people [claim] their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate ." The question of to whom civil and political rights apply is a subject of controversy. Although in many countries citizens are considered to have greater protections against infringement of rights than non-citizens, civil and political rights are generally considered to be universal rights that apply to all persons . One thing to mention

1798-850: The Shirley Frank Foundation, the Children's Museum of Greater New Haven, the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation, the Dixwell Legal Rights Association, the Urban League, and the New Haven Civil Service Commission. He received honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2012 and the University of New Haven in 2013. The Library Media Center at Wilbur L. Cross High School

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1856-635: The State Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System and serves as Connecticut's representative to the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts. He mentored scores of students, lawyers, and fellow judges throughout his life. Active in his profession and the community throughout his judicial career, Harper served twelve years as president of

1914-460: The State Constitution , SC 17211), included Justices Borden, Norcott, Katz, Palmer and Vertefeuille. In an extraordinary action, all five majority justices signed their names as authors of the opinion. Dissenting were Chief Justice Sullivan and Justice Zarella. On October 10, 2008, the court ruled in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health that gay and lesbian couples could not be denied

1972-681: The United States gathered steam by 1848 with such documents as the Declaration of Sentiment. Consciously modeled after the Declaration of Independence , the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments became the founding document of the American women's movement, and it was adopted at the Seneca Falls Convention, July 19 and 20, 1848. Worldwide, several political movements for equality before

2030-438: The access to a public education which is not substantially and materially impaired by racial and ethnic isolation. This was a split 4–3 decision, which was authored by Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters . Peters was joined in the majority opinion by Justices Robert Berdon, Flemming L. Norcott, Jr. , and Joette Katz . Justice David M. Borden authored the dissent, with Justices Robert Callahan and Richard Palmer concurring. One of

2088-435: The area include Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld , and Jean Edward Smith . First-generation rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature, as well as strongly individualistic : They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the state. First-generation rights include, among other things, freedom of speech ,

2146-420: The bathroom of his choice is a well known case in these civil right fights. Another issue in civil rights has been the issue with police brutality in certain communities especially minority communities. This has been seen as another way for minority groups to be oppressed and their rights infringed upon. Outrage has also been a massive result of incidents caught on tape of police abusing and in some cases causing

2204-463: The deaths of people from minority groups such as African Americans. That is why to address the issue has been accountability to police engaging in such conduct as a way to deter other officers from committing similar actions. T. H. Marshall notes that civil rights were among the first to be recognized and codified, followed later by political rights and still later by social rights. In many countries, they are constitutional rights and are included in

2262-546: The deciding vote in the case of Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health . In this 4–3 ruling, the State Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut . On February 23, 2011, Governor Dannel Malloy nominated Harper to the Connecticut Supreme Court , even though Harper would reach the court's mandatory retirement age of 70 in November 2012. On March 16, 2011, Connecticut House of Representatives approved

2320-498: The government intervene to protect individuals from infringement on their rights by other individuals , or from corporations —e.g., in what way should employment discrimination in the private sector be dealt with? Political theory deals with civil and political rights. Robert Nozick and John Rawls expressed competing visions in Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia and Rawls' A Theory of Justice . Other influential authors in

2378-519: The importance of the case and the high likelihood that the United States Supreme Court would grant certiorari. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Connecticut Supreme Court's decision in favor of the city, in a 5–4 decision, with the dissent written by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas . The Kelo decision

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2436-548: The issue of such legal discrimination against Catholics. In the House of Commons , support for civil rights was divided, with many politicians agreeing with the existing civil disabilities of Catholics. The Roman Catholic Relief Act of 1829 restored their civil rights. In the United States, the term civil rights has been associated with the civil rights movement (1954–1968), which fought against racism. The movement also fought segregation and Jim Crow laws and this fight took place in

2494-424: The law occurred between approximately 1950 and 1980. These movements had a legal and constitutional aspect, and resulted in much law-making at both national and international levels. They also had an activist side, particularly in situations where violations of rights were widespread. Movements with the proclaimed aim of securing observance of civil and political rights included: Most civil rights movements relied on

2552-487: The majority opinion of the court, authored by Justice Katz, and joined by Chief Justice Rogers, and Justices Palmer and Vertefeuille, effectively ordered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport to release thousands of legal documents from previous lawsuits filed against priests accused of sexually abusing children. A dissenting opinion was authored by Justice Sullivan. The Connecticut Supreme Court case stemmed from

2610-411: The majority opinion. Justices Bogdanski, Longo, and Barber concurred in the decision, and Justice Bogdanski filed a concurring opinion. Justice Loiselle dissented from the majority opinion. The Court (610 A.2d 1225), speaking through Justice Robert I. Berdon, delineated a six-factor test to assess claims of rights under the Connecticut Constitution. The six factors are: This test has subsequently formed

2668-405: The most important cases the court has decided was Kelo v. City of New London (2004), appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court . The state court sided with the city in a 4–3 decision, with the majority opinion authored by Justice Norcott and joined by Justices Borden, Palmer and Vertefeuille. Justice Zarella wrote an unusually lengthy and considered dissent (joined by Justices Sullivan and Katz), due to

2726-479: The nomination on a vote of 124–16, and the Connecticut State Senate followed suit, 24–7. Harper was sworn in the same day. Harper succeeded Joette Katz on the court. Harper was the third African American to serve on the state supreme court, following Robert D. Glass and Flemming L. Norcott Jr. Following his retirement from the courts, Harper sits by designation on the Appellate Court. He chairs

2784-463: The original and main part of international human rights . They comprise the first portion of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be "first-generation rights", and the theory of negative and positive rights considers them to be generally negative rights . The phrase "civil rights"

2842-510: The original on 2022-11-03 . Retrieved 2022-10-25 . </ref> Civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals ' freedom from infringement by governments , social organizations , and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of society and the state . Civil rights generally include ensuring peoples' physical and mental integrity, life , and safety , protection from discrimination ,

2900-653: The pursuit of Happiness". It is considered by some that the sole purpose of government is the protection of life, liberty , and property. Some thinkers have argued that the concepts of self-ownership and cognitive liberty affirm rights to choose the food one eats, the medicine one takes , and the habit one indulges . Civil rights guarantee equal protection under the law. When civil and political rights are not guaranteed to all as part of equal protection of laws , or when such guarantees exist on paper but are not respected in practice, opposition, legal action and even social unrest may ensue. Civil rights movements in

2958-421: The right to privacy , the freedom of thought , speech , religion , press , assembly , and movement . Political rights include natural justice (procedural fairness) in law , such as the rights of the accused , including the right to a fair trial ; due process ; the right to seek redress or a legal remedy ; and rights of participation in civil society and politics such as freedom of association ,

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3016-721: The right to marry because of the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution. This decision made Connecticut the third state (along with Massachusetts and California ) to legalize same-sex marriage through judicial decree of the state supreme court. Chief Justice Rogers, who did not participate in the decision, was replaced by appellate Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. The majority opinion was written by Justice Palmer, and joined by Justices Norcott, Katz, and Judge Harper. Justices Zarella, Vertefeuille, and Borden dissented. In George L. Rosado et al. v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation et al. (SC 17807) , 292 Conn. 1 (2009)

3074-466: The risk of political violence breaking out. According to political scientist Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr., analyzing the causes of and lack of protection from human rights abuses in the Global South should be focusing on the interactions of domestic and international factors—an important perspective that has usually been systematically neglected in the social science literature. Custom also plays

3132-745: The streets, in public places, in government, and in the courts including the Supreme Court. The civil rights movement was also not the only movement fighting for civil rights as The Black Panthers were also a group focused on fighting racism and Jim Crow. Other things that civil rights have been associated with are not just race but also rights of Transgender and other LGBTQ individuals. These have been fights over sexuality instead of race and focused around whether these individuals may access certain spaces like bathrooms according to their sexual identity or biological sex. Gavin Grimm's fight in Virginia over whether he could use

3190-560: The technique of civil resistance , using nonviolent methods to achieve their aims. In some countries, struggles for civil rights were accompanied, or followed, by civil unrest and even armed rebellion. While civil rights movements over the last sixty years have resulted in an extension of civil and political rights, the process was long and tenuous in many countries, and many of these movements did not achieve or fully achieve their objectives. Questions about civil and political rights have frequently emerged. For example, to what extent should

3248-620: The underpinnings of subsequent decisions interpreting and guiding the meaning of the Connecticut Constitution, including that the Connecticut Constitution affords greater protections than its Federal counterpart—including the Kerrigan decision discussed below, and Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Educational Funding v. Rell. Chief Justice Ellen Ash Peters and Justice David Shea and Justice Robert Glass joined Justice Berdon's majority opinion. Justice Alfred Covello dissented. Sheff v. O'Neill

3306-741: Was named after him in 2013. The University of New Haven established the Justice Lubbie Harper, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2017. Harper received the following awards and honors, among others: Harper and his wife, Twila, live in North Haven . Harper Jr., Lubbie (2022-10-25). "Acceptance Remarks for the Public Service Award by Justice Lubbie Harper, Jr., presented by the UConn Law School Alumni Association" (PDF) . UConn School of Law . Archived (PDF) from

3364-493: Was the first in his family to attend college. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Haven in 1965 and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut in 1967. For nearly a decade, he worked as a community school coordinator at the New Haven Community Schools and as a field instructor for the UConn School of Social Work. He returned to UConn to study law, receiving

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