Probate Judge Torch Passed At Carchia’s Swearing In Ceremony

Surrounded by family, friends, fellow Democratic politicos, and his two probate court predecessors, Americo Carchia took the oath of office as New Haven’s new probate judge during a lunchtime celebration at a waterfront Morris Cove restaurant.

That was the scene Monday midday at Amarante’s Sea Cliff restaurant at 62 Cove St.

With his right hand raised, Carchia recited the oath administered by one of his five children (and fellow attorney) Ettore. Carchia promised to perform to the best of his abilities the duties of his office — which involves making sometimes heart-wrenching decisions about child custody, parental rights, adoption, and guardianship of intellectually disabled individuals, as well as approving wills and name changes.

Carchia, a local lawyer who has spent the past quarter-century representing clients going through those very same circumstances, was elected in November to be New Haven’s next probate judge. His four-year term officially begins on Wednesday. 

He succeeds in that elected judgeship role retiring New Haven Probate Judge Clifton Graves, who took office in 2018, as well as retired Probate Judge Jack Keyes, who served on the probate court bench from 1986 to 2018.

Graves and Keyes — along with Connecticut Probate Court Administrator Judge Beverly Streit-Kefalas, New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, and dozens of others — all attended the swearing-in ceremony / buffet lunch at the New Haven Harbor-fronting restaurant and banquet hall.

“I hope I’m able to administer compassion, dignity, and caring throughout my time at probate,” Carchia told the crowd before him after taking the oath of office.

Speakers at Monday’s ceremony said the role of probate judge is markedly different from those of other judges in Connecticut’s judicial system.

For one, probate judge is the only elected judgeship in the state.

“The probate judge has to be a person of the people, and that’s what Americo is,” Blumenthal said. ​“The election of someone like Americo is a great tribute to our democracy.”

Bysiewicz described Carchia as ​“a person of great compassion,” ​“fair,” and as having the ​“right demeanor” and the ​“right legal background” for the challenging role. Because of his decades of experience working in the field, she said, ​“he’s someone that lawyers who come before the probate court will respect.”

Blumenthal, Looney, and Streit-Kefalas spoke about how probate judges preside over uniquely challenging and intimate cases.

“It is one where the judge has to not only be a knowledgeable lawyer and skilled in the law of trusts, estates, conveyances, gifts and bequests and things of that nature, but also has to understand how to deal with people in crisis, at a time of death, at a time when someone may need a conservator,” at a time when a parent is unable to take care of children, Looney said. ​“These are the decisions that have to be made with sensitivity in probate court.” 

“Not everyone skilled in the law” is a good fit for the job, Looney said. One must also be ​“skilled in the heart.”

“The probate court system in the State of Connecticut is not a court of trusts and estates,” Streit-Kefalas said. Rather, roughly half of the work involves dealing with ​“our most vulnerable constituents in the state,” including guardianships for young children whose parents suffer from psychiatric or substance use disorders, conservatorships of young and elderly individuals alike whose ​“capacities are impaired,” and ​“psychiatric commitments when psychiatric disorders reach crisis intervention levels.” In recent months and years, she said, ​“those crises are accelerating.” She said that Carchia ​“knows firsthand vulnerabilities, the resources, and the needs of the probate court system.”

After congratulating Carchia on taking on his now-former role, Graves called on the probate court system to recognize and work to address a statewide challenge. He also urged Carchia to always ​“try to live right and try to do right,” and to ​“be careful of those who smile in your face and then stab you in the back.”

Of the 54 probate court judges in Connecticut, Graves said, only two are African American. With his retirement, that number is now down to one.

“This is not South Dakota,” Graves said. ​“This is Connecticut. We have a rich, culturally diverse community that we serve, especially in the cities. … We have to do a better job.”