Newly tapped state judge nominees: Scott Jones, Tara Knight, and Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe.
New Haven’s top public defender, a former City Hall attorney, a Yale Law School instructor, and two Hamden-based personal injury lawyers are en route to becoming state judges, thanks to a sweep of appointments by Gov. Ned Lamont.
Lamont announced those judicial appointments in a Thursday afternoon email press release.
The release states that Lamont has nominated 22 Connecticut residents to fill vacancies as judges on the Connecticut Superior Court, which currently has 59 vacancies.
This marks the second “class” of Superior Court nominations made by Lamont during his first term in office.
As was the case with the last group of nominations, several locals made the cut.
The New Haveners and Hamdenites included in this group of nominations are:
• Scott Jones, 55, of Hamden. Jones currently serves as the top public defender for the New Haven Judicial District, based out of the state courthouse at 235 Church St. He has worked in the public defender services for 29 years.
• Tara Knight, 56, of New Haven. Knight, a private criminal defense attorney, is senior and founding partner at Knight & Cerritelli LLC. She has practiced law for 31 years, is past president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, and teaches trial practice at Yale Law School.
• Cherie Phoenix-Sharpe, 41, of Hamden. Phoenix-Sharpe is currently general counsel to Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz and formerly served as deputy corporation counsel for the City of New Haven.
• Charles Reed, 58, of Hamden. Reed is currently managing principal with Loughlin FitzGerald, P.C. He has worked in civil litigation for 30 years, primarily as a personal injury lawyer. He previously worked an associate attorney at Wiggin and Dana, LLP in New Haven from 1990 to 1997, and served as president of the New Haven County Bar Association from 2010 to 2011.
• John F. Riley, 58, of Hamden. Riley is currently a trial attorney with Moore, O’Brien and Foti in Middlebury, focusing on personal injury litigation and worker’s compensation. He also serves as an arbitrator in hearing contested personal injury matters.
Way to go Tara