Lieberman and Blumenthal Announce Plans for Advisory Panel on Federal Judicial Nominations

Press Release

Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced today that they have reactivated the Advisory Panel on Federal Appointments with two new members to assist them in making recommendations to the White House for federal district court judgeships in Connecticut. The committee is comprised of distinguished members of Connecticut's legal and professional community, who will be asked to solicit, screen, interview and comment on candidates for openings to the federal district court bench.

"Our federal district court judges are central figures in the balance of justice in our state and country," Lieberman and Blumenthal said. "We look forward to working with these impressive panel members, who bring a wealth of legal and professional experience to this process, to assist us in identifying highly qualified candidates to serve in these important judicial positions for our state and country. "

The advisory panel will be made up of the following members:

Akhil Reed Amar
Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School where he teaches constitutional law and criminal procedure. Professor Amar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer when he was a judge on the First Circuit Court of Appeals. He is the author of numerous publications and books including America's Constitution: A Biography and For the People: What the Constitution Really Says About Your Rights co-written with Alan Hirsch. He received his B.A. and J.D. from Yale and was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Timothy D. Bates
Timothy D. Bates is an attorney whose practice has included representing municipalities as well as clients before municipal agencies. He advises cities, towns and municipal agencies across the State of Connecticut. He is the Connecticut State Chair of the International Municipal Lawyers Association and is a partner in the New London office of Robinson & Cole LLP. He graduated from Yale College in 1970 with a B.A. and Columbia Law School in 1973. He is former Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Planning and Zoning Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. He was previously Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Town of Groton.

Michael J. Cacace
Michael A. Cacace is a partner in the Stamford law firm Cacace, Tusch & Santagata whose practice focuses on real estate and zoning. He is a member of the Connecticut Committee of the Regional Plan, a former president of the Stamford Regional Bar Associaton and a former Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Section of the Connecticut Bar Association. He has served as President of the United Way of Stamford and of Connecticut, Chairman of the Stamford Commission on Aging, Chairman of the Stamford 13th Charter Revision Commission, Chairman of the Stamford Redistricting Commissions in 1991 and 2001 and President of the Stamford Center for the Arts, the Italian Center of Stamford and the Volunteer Center of Southwestern Connecticut. He received his B.A. from Fordham College and J.D. from New York Law School.

Sanford Cloud, Jr.
Sanford Cloud is Chairman and CEO of The Cloud Company, LLC, a real estate development and management firm. He is Chairman of the Connecticut Health Foundation and the new Chairman of UCONN Health Center. Mr. Cloud is the former president of the National Conference for Community and Justice, a former partner in the law firm of Robinson & Cole, a former Vice President and head of the Aetna Foundation, and a former Connecticut State Senator. He received both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Howard University and an M.A. from the Hartford Seminary.

Estela R. López
Dr. López is the Senior Program Associate at Excelencia in Education. She has also served in high-ranking positions at the University of Puerto Rico, Northeastern Illinois University and the Connecticut State University System. Her work with leading national higher educational associations has shaped her leadership skills and made her an effective change agent for student success. She is a former Public Member of the Connecticut Judicial Review Council, which investigates and act on allegations of misconduct and disability by state judges. She currently serves as a board member of the State Education Department. López is the recipient of numerous honors including the Illinois Latino Council in Higher Education Distinguished Service Award and the 2006 Latina Citizen of the Year selected by the Connecticut General Assembly's Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission.

Kathleen L. Nastri
Kathleen Nastri is Partner at the law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder. She is a past president and first woman president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers' Association (CTLA). She is also co-chair of the CTLA's Continuing Legal Education Committee and is Editor of the "Verdict and Settlements" column of CTLA Forum magazine. She is admitted to practice at the U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as in Connecticut state courts. Kathleen is a Fellow of the Connecticut Bar Foundation, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and was selected for membership in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Dan Papermaster
Dan Papermaster is the managing partner of Bingham McCutchen LLP's Hartford office. He focuses on corporate law and corporate finance. He also represents numerous entities involved in economic development projects in Hartford. Dan served as general chairman of Hartford Debate '96, the organizing committee that hosted the first presidential debate of 1996 between Pres. Bill Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole. In 2003, he was appointed by the mayor of the City of Hartford to chair a commission to reorganize the Corporation Counsel's office of the City of Hartford. Dan is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Texas School of Law.

Ellen Ash Peters
Ellen Ash Peters is a Judge Trial Referee who currently serves on the Appellate Court of Connecticut. She is also a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut. A 1951 graduate of Swarthmore College, she received her law degree from Yale Law School in 1954. After a year of clerking for Chief Judge Charles E. Clark of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and then another year as a Research Associate at the University of California Law School at Boalt Hall, she returned to Yale to begin her teaching career of 22 years at that school. She was appointed an Associate Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1978, and named Chief Justice in 1984. From 1996 until her mandatory retirement from the Supreme Court in 2000, she served as Senior Justice. She presently is a member of the Council of the American Law Institute, a member of Council of the American Philosophical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Stanley A. "Stan" Twardy, Jr.
Stan Twardy served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut from 1985 to 1991, and was responsible for numerous successful prosecutions in the area of white-collar crime. He is currently a Partner at Day Pitney LLP and a member of the firm's White Collar Defense and Internal Investigations Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm, he served as chief of staff to governor Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. from January 1991 through February 1993.

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