Connecticut judges are appointed through a three-step process: the Judicial Selection Commission screens candidates and produces a qualified list, the Governor nominates someone from that list, and the General Assembly votes to appoint the nominee. The Governor cannot nominate anyone the Commission has not approved. Appointed judges serve eight-year terms, can be reappointed through the same process, and must retire at age 70.
The Judicial Selection Commission Controls the Candidate Pool
Every judge the Governor nominates has to come from a list the Judicial Selection Commission prepares. That constraint is written into the Connecticut Constitution and it shapes everything else about how judges reach the bench.1Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 872 – Judges
The Commission has 12 members. Six are attorneys and six are not. No more than six may belong to the same political party, and no member can be an elected or appointed state official or hold statewide party office. The Governor appoints six members, one from each congressional district plus one at-large, and legislative leaders from both chambers appoint the other six. Members serve three-year terms and cannot serve consecutive terms, which keeps any single appointing authority from stacking the body over time.2Justia. Connecticut Code 51-44a – Judicial Selection Commission
For a first-time candidate, the Commission investigates and interviews each applicant before deciding whether to place them on the qualified list. The evaluation looks at legal ability, competence, integrity, character, and temperament.2Justia. Connecticut Code 51-44a – Judicial Selection Commission Only candidates who clear this screen are eligible for nomination.
The Governor Nominates, the Legislature Appoints
When a vacancy opens or is coming, the Commission submits its list to the Governor. The Governor then has 45 days to pick a nominee from that list.1Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 872 – Judges The Governor cannot look outside the list, cannot send names back for reconsideration, and cannot wait indefinitely.
Once the Governor nominates someone, the nomination goes to the General Assembly, which votes on whether to appoint the nominee. Both steps have to happen. A Commission-approved candidate the Governor never nominates does not become a judge, and a Governor’s nominee the Assembly rejects does not either. The design keeps any single branch from controlling who sits on the bench.
Terms, Reappointment, and Mandatory Retirement
Judges of the Superior Court, Appellate Court, and Supreme Court serve eight-year terms.1Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 872 – Judges A judge who wants another term goes back through the Commission for evaluation near the end of the current one.
Reappointment is weighted toward the incumbent. State law creates a statutory presumption that a sitting judge qualifies for retention, and the burden sits on the Commission to rebut that presumption if it wants to deny reappointment. If the Commission recommends reappointment, the Governor may nominate the judge and the General Assembly votes again. If the Commission denies reappointment, or the Governor declines to re-nominate, the Governor picks a new candidate from the qualified list.2Justia. Connecticut Code 51-44a – Judicial Selection Commission
Every judge has to retire at age 70, regardless of where they are in their eight-year term. After mandatory retirement, a judge may continue in a limited capacity as a senior judge, taking assigned cases or participating in alternative dispute resolution. Senior judge status also ends at age 70 if the eight-year term has not yet expired. Retired judges may also serve as state referees and decide small claims matters.3Justia. Connecticut General Statutes Title 51, Chapter 872 – Judges
What the Commission Looks For
The statutory criteria for both initial appointment and reappointment are legal ability, competence, integrity, character, and temperament.2Justia. Connecticut Code 51-44a – Judicial Selection Commission Those words do a lot of work in practice. Superior Court judges in particular need genuine range, because a court of general jurisdiction can put a contract case, a felony trial, and a family dissolution hearing in front of the same judge within days.4Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut. Connecticut’s Courts Temperament and competence screening at the Commission stage is how the system tries to catch problems before someone takes the bench rather than after.
The Commission’s bipartisan composition and the attorney/non-attorney split mean candidates get evaluated from more than one perspective. The appointment pipeline, though, still depends on who applies in the first place and who the Commission chooses to advance.
Probate Judges Are the Exception
If you’ve seen references to Connecticut judges being elected, those are Probate Court judges, and they’re the only ones. Probate Courts sit outside the four-tier hierarchy of Supreme Court, Appellate Court, and Superior Court. Their jurisdiction is limited to specific matters: estates of deceased persons, adoptions, conservatorships, commitment of people with mental illness, and guardianship of minors. Probate judges are elected by voters in their district every four years.5Connecticut General Assembly. Connecticut Laws on Probate Court Judges The Governor-and-Commission process described above does not apply to them.
How This Compares to Federal Judges
The federal process is simpler and gives the political branches more direct control. Federal district court judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, with no intermediary screening commission and no mandatory retirement.6United States District Court – District of Kansas. What Is the Difference Between a Federal District Court Judge and a Magistrate Judge Federal judges hold their seats for life once confirmed.
Connecticut’s design makes two different trade-offs. The Commission screens candidates before any political actor gets to choose, which limits patronage at the front end. And the eight-year term with reappointment review creates periodic accountability that the federal system does not have. The cost is that sitting judges have to re-enter the political process every eight years to keep their seats, even with the statutory presumption of retention in their favor.
Legislative Changes to Watch
The legislature has considered changes to the Commission’s own structure. A 2025 bill proposed altering its 12-member composition, which would shift who controls the pipeline of judicial candidates. Even small changes to that body matter, because the Commission decides who the Governor is allowed to nominate in the first place, and the character of its membership shapes the bench for decades.
Separately, Public Act 25-91, effective October 1, 2025, redistricted several towns among judicial districts. Avon, Burlington, Canton, Farmington, Granby, and Simsbury were moved to the Judicial District of Litchfield at Torrington.7State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. New Legislation – Connecticut Judicial Branch That change does not alter how judges are appointed, but it changes where cases from those towns are heard and which bench hears them.