Glastonbury Resident Nominated For CT Supreme Court Seat

HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Ned Lamont Friday announced that he is nominating Nora R. Dannehy of Glastonbury to serve as an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court.

She is being named to fill the seat most recently held by the Honorable Maria Araújo Kahn, who resigned earlier this year after being confirmed to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

"Nora has a reputation in Connecticut as a fighter of corruption and crooked public officials, providing protections that ensure our justice system is shielding the interests of the people and not the powerful," Lamont said. "She has never been intimidated to back down from a fight against those in the highest levels of government, and her work has resulted in groundbreaking reforms in Connecticut that will forever shape how we elect public officials and their requirements for openness and transparency. She is incredibly qualified to serve on the bench and will be a great addition to the Supreme Court."

"I am honored and humbled by the governor's nomination and I recognize the tremendous responsibility this position brings," Dannehy said. "I appreciate that this is the first step in the process, and if confirmed I will fully and eagerly do everything I can to serve the people of Connecticut to the best of my ability."

Born in Willimantic, Dannehy, 62, is well-known in Connecticut and throughout the country as an advocate for the public’s interests and clean government. From 1991 to 2010, she served in several roles with the U.S. Department of Justice, including becoming the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, the state’s top federal prosecutor. During her tenure with this office, she specialized in the prosecution of complex white collar and public corruption cases, including cases within the highest levels of Connecticut state government that lead to the convictions of several prominent public officials, including Gov. John G. Rowland, State Treasurer Paul J. Silvester, and New Haven Police Department Lieutenant William "Billy" White.

She also supervised several national investigations.

In 2010, Dannehy was appointed as Deputy Attorney General for the Office of the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut in a role that required her to supervise the office’s day-to-day litigation efforts. From 2013 until 2019, she served as the Associate General Counsel for Global Ethics and Compliance for United Technologies Corporation. Through her work as the chief compliance officer for a major corporation, Dannehy supervised numerous investigations and advised the company regarding compliance, ethics, and related policies. In 2019, she returned to public service as Counsel to the U.S. Attorney, and then as General Counsel to Governor Lamont from 2021 until January of 2023.

Dannehy currently works in private practice in the Hartford-based firm of Cowdery, Murphy, Dannehy & Healy, where she conducts internal and independent investigations for public and private entities.

She earned a B.A. in political science and French from Wellesley College, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Connecticut’s four Democratic caucus leaders – Senate President Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven), House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford), Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford) – today endorsed Governor Lamont’s nomination of Dannehy to the State Supreme Court.