Blumenthal & Murphy Introduce Connecticut District Court Nominee Vernon Oliver Before Senate Confirmation Hearing

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced President Biden’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Judge Vernon D. Oliver, before his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Following today’s hearing, Oliver’s nomination is expected to receive a vote in the Committee. If approved, his nomination will then receive a vote by the full Senate. 

“I served with Judge Oliver for five years and I came to know him personally as a vigorous, skilled, and aggressive advocate, but also as a person of extraordinary compassion and insight,” said Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “He is extraordinarily experienced and impressive in his judicial career already, and he has been supported by Connecticut attorneys as well as [a] Republican [member] of the State House of Representatives and other organizations involved in our profession. So I’m very pleased and proud to support Judge Oliver and I look forward to his speedy confirmation.”

“At a moment when we are trying to explain to the American public the relevance and the independence of our judiciary, Judge Oliver has taken on a couple tasks that I think are really important. First, he actually spends a lot of time outside of the courtroom talking to student groups about his work and why they should believe in Connecticut's judicial system. He also spends time talking about his journey from the Bridgeport public schools to one of the highest positions in state government, encouraging more students to pursue a career in law,” said Murphy. “Second, Judge Oliver serves as the Chair of the Connecticut Committee on Judicial Ethics. He's taken on a really tough job to lead the efforts to make sure that we are applying the rule of law not just to those who appear before the court, but to the judges themselves. I'm very proud to join Senator Blumenthal in introducing Judge Oliver to the committee. I'm confident that you will find him to be as impressive as we have, and I look forward to working with you to bring his nomination to the Senate floor.”

Video of Blumenthal’s opening remarks is available for download here. Murphy’s opening remarks are available here.

Judge Oliver has served on the Connecticut Superior Court since 2009. While most recently serving as the Administrative Judge for the Middlesex Judicial District, he previously presided over both civil and criminal cases in Windham, Hartford, Meriden, Waterbury, Rockville, Manchester, and New Britain. Prior to his time on the bench, Judge Oliver served as an Assistant State’s Attorney and Assistant Attorney General in the Child Protection Bureau. Judge Oliver has also chaired the Committee on Judicial Ethics and the State Wiretap Panel, and was a member of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. A native of Bridgeport and a lifelong resident of Connecticut, Judge Oliver received both his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Connecticut.

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