Carmen Espinosa is thisclose to making history in Connecticut once again…
The 63-year-old Puerto Rican state Appellate Judge has been nominated to the Connecticut Supreme Court by Governor Dannel P. Malloy. Espinosa’s nomination must still be confirmed by the state’s General Assembly.
If confirmed, the Puerto Rican-born Espinosa would become the first Hispanic justice of the state Supreme Court. Two years ago, Malloy named her as the first Hispanic member of the appellate bench. In 1992, she became the first Hispanic judge on the state’s Superior Court – appointed by Governor Lowell P. Weicker.
“She has been a trailblazer,” Malloy said. “She was the first in her family to graduate from college. She was the first Hispanic judge to serve on the Superior Court, then the first Hispanic judge to sit on the Appellate Court, and now poised to become the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.”
Malloy said Espinosa has had an impressive career and is one of the state’s most respected jurists.
“She will serve the people well when confirmed to the bench,” he said.
State Senator John Kissel, R-Enfield, the ranking Senate Republican on the legislature’s Judiciary Committee, said he strongly supports Espinosa’s elevation to the Supreme Court and commended Malloy for making the nomination.
“We continue to seek to have a broad range of racial and ethnic minorities within Connecticut’s judicial system and this is a wonderful selection,” said Kissel, adding how Espinosa has displayed fairness, thoughtfulness and an even temperament during her two decades as a jurist.
A mother of three, Espinosa said she hopes her nomination will serve as an example to young Hispanic children that anything is possible if “they stay in school and use education as a bridge to success.”
“To be the first Hispanic to sit on all three levels of the Connecticut judiciary would truly be an honor,” she said, telling reporters after the announcement that “it’s almost surreal” to be nominated to state’s highest court.
Prior to becoming a judge, Espinosa was an FBI agent and an assistant U.S. attorney. She also taught French and Spanish in the Southington public schools. Espinosa graduated from Central Connecticut State University in 1971, received her master’s degree in Hispanic Studies from Brown University in 1973 and received her law degree from George Washington University Law School in 1976.
