Andy Thibault

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Cool Justice 
The Divine Right Of Susco
By ANDY THIBAULT, Columnist
Law Tribune Newspapers
May 15, 2006

'The courtrooms do not belong to any judges'

What to do with self-proclaimed newspaper editor Wendy Susco?

Susco is the Hartford Superior Court judge who on May 2 told two reporters, "I don't allow note-taking in my courtroom."

Really.

What brought about this delusional episode?

Reality, aka the Connecticut Constitution, tells us: "All courts should be open." It is not Susco's courtroom. The courtrooms do not belong to any judges. Rather, they belong to the people of Connecticut.

No one needs a judge's permission to take notes. The reporters in court that day should have told Susco she was out of order and continued taking notes. If marshals subsequently approached them, the reporters could have advised the marshals of their duty to obey illegal orders given the judge's wanton desecration of the Connecticut and U.S. Constitutions.

So what if the reporters would have to spend a few hours in a holding cell? They would meet nicer people than they met in the courtroom. Or, as many bullies are cowards, the dopey judge might have realized what she stepped in and backed off.

Bravo to Journal Inquirer reporter Heather Collins, who, two days after Susco's outrageous and bizarre outburst, sat in the front row of Hartford Superior Court and took notes.

My remedy for Susco's wrongdoing is to have her read the Magna Carta aloud while displayed in public stocks at Bushnell Park. Former Supreme Court Justice William "Tocco" Sullivan - who recently rigged the Freedom of Information case about access to docket information - can join Susco as a back-up reader. If this assignment is too light, they can continue by reading the Connecticut and U.S. Constitutions.

Susco should also be given a mental exam. If she is found to be sufficiently deranged, then she can be hired as an executive for one of the newspaper chains or television conglomerates that are also enemies of the free flow of information. It will be a nice fit. She can tell reporters to write happy stories and be polite and obsequious. Perhaps a foundation will underwrite a Susco Chair In Deference To The Corrupt and Racketeering Organization "Los Robos," a name I hereby dub to the crew known as the Connecticut Judicial Department.

The good judges trapped in Los Robos are starting to grumble, and they should continue to do so -- publicly. Sullivan is no longer around to transfer them to outposts far from home. Also, acting Chief Justice David Borden is said to be organizing a committee that will engender some openness in the courts.

These positive developments can gain traction if more members of the Legislature's Judiciary Committee gain some guts and integrity - instead of just marking time to join Los Robos.

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