Lamont nominates Judge Bright to Supreme Court, Judge Wilson to Appellate Court

Judge William Bright

HARTFORD – Gov. Ned Lamont has nominated several jurists to serve in positions on Connecticut’s courts, including the Supreme, Appellate, Family, and Workers’ Compensation courts. Four are from Fairfield County.

William H. Bright Jr., 62, of Columbia, who is the chief judge of the Appellate Court, has been tapped as an associate justice for the Supreme Court. Robin L. Wilson, a Superior Court Judge from New Haven, has been nominated as an Appellate Court judge.

Additionally, four Fairfield County officials have been nominated to fill other vacant state judge vacancies. They are former state Senate Minority Leader Kevin Kelly of Stratford; David Bothwell of Fairfield, legal counsel and legislative liaison to the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles; Diana Gomez of Easton, a public defender; and Collette Griffin of Newtown, a partner with Strunk Dodge Aiken Zovas.

“Judge Bright has been an excellent leader of our Appellate Court over these last four-and-a- half years, and he has had an impressive career handling all types of cases both on the trial and appellate levels,” said Gov. Lamont. “Likewise, Judge Wilson is an incredibly well-respected member of Connecticut’s legal community, having served in the Superior Court for more than two decades. I am confident that these nominees each have the high standards and qualifications the people of Connecticut deserve to have serving for them on the bench.”

Judge Bright is being considered to fill the associate justice seat on the Supreme Court that was most recently held by the Honorable Raheem L. Mullins, who was recently nominated by the governor to become chief justice.

Judge Bright has served on the Appellate Court since 2017 and as chief judge since 2020. Immediately prior to his nomination to the Appellate Court, Judge Bright served as a judge of the Superior Court from 2008 to 2017, presiding over criminal, civil, habeas corpus, and juvenile trials.

Before being nominated to the bench, he was a partner with the law firm of McCarter and English from 2003-2008, and with Cummings and Lockwood from 1987-2003. With both firms, he worked as a trial attorney, handling cases in both state and federal courts and representing individuals, government entities, and small and large businesses in environmental, property, and commercial matters.

Judge Bright graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, summa cum laude, and earned a Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

“I want to thank Governor Lamont for his faith and confidence in me,” Judge Bright said. “It is truly an honor to be nominated and considered for a position on our state’s highest court. It has been my distinct pleasure to serve the people of Connecticut as a judge of the Superior Court and the Appellate Court over the past 17 years.”

Judge Robyn Wilson

Judge Wilson has served on the Superior Court since 2003. She is being nominated to fill the seat on the Appellate Court that will become vacant following the confirmation of Judge Bright to serve on the Supreme Court. Judge Wilson is presently assigned to the Waterbury Complex Litigation Docket, presiding over complex civil cases. Prior to this, she served in the Civil Division of the New Haven Judicial District for 15 years.

Immediately prior to her nomination to the Superior Court, she served as an administrative law judge on the Workers’ Compensation Commission from 1994-2003. She also worked from 1986-1994 as an assistant attorney general in the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, serving in both the Child Support Department and the Workers’ Compensation Department.

In recognition of her influence and leadership, Judge Wilson has been honored as one of the NAACP’s 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut and as one of the 100 Women of Color Leadership in the State of Connecticut.

Judge Wilson earned a bachelor of arts degree in government, with honors, from Connecticut College, a Juris Doctor degree from Northeastern University School of Law, and a Master of Laws degree in labor relations from New York University School of Law.

“I am deeply honored and humbled by Gov. Lamont’s nomination to serve as an Appellate Judge for the State of Connecticut,” Judge Wilson said. “It is an absolute honor and privilege to have this opportunity.”

Of the 22 judicial vacancies in the Superior Court, Gov. Lamont has made 13 nominations. Locally, those nominees include:

  • David G. Bothwell, 55, of Fairfield: Bothwell graduated from Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania, and obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. He currently serves as legal counsel and legislative liaison to the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles. Prior to that, he spent his entire career as a criminal defense attorney in both his own private practice, as well as many years with the Connecticut Division of Public Defenders.
  • Diana M. Gomez, 42, of Easton: Gomez graduated from Central Connecticut State University and obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law. She is currently an assistant public defender in the Ansonia-Milford Judicial District, specializing in criminal defense of indigent defendants. She has worked in the Connecticut Division of Public Defender Services for the past eleven years. Prior to serving as a public defender, she worked in private practice. Additionally, she serves on many boards, committees and commissions.
  • Kevin C. Kelly, 65, of Stratford: Kelly obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts, a Master of Arts degree from Fairfield University, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is currently an attorney and owner of Kevin Kelly and Associates, a practice that is focused on elder law, estate planning, probate administration and litigation, and municipal law. Prior to his legal career, he worked for the Connecticut Department of Social Services. From 2011 to 2025, he served the 21st Senatorial District of Monroe, Seymour, Shelton, and Stratford in the Connecticut State Senate, and in this capacity represented his caucus for several years as minority leader.

The Workers’ compensation administrative law judge nominee includes:

  • Colette Griffin, 66, of Newtown: Griffin graduated from the University of Bridgeport and obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac School of Law. She is currently a partner with Strunk Dodge Aiken Zovas and has served as the chair of both the workers’ compensation and animal law sections of the Connecticut Bar Association. She was previously a partner with Howd and Ludorf, LLC, where she began and ran their workers’ compensation practice. She serves on the workers’ compensation legal advisory and medical advisory committees.

The General Assembly must now vote to confirm the nominees.